Against the Currents
by myshipsaresunk
Summary: Steve's love is old and dying. The man Natasha liked left her. Wanda couldn't save her brother. Now the three of them, along with the other Avengers, must eliminate a threat far greater than they could imagine, but how can they be Earth's saviors when they themselves are broken and full of despair and darkness? Can they put aside their feelings to save the world?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Hey! So this is my post-Age of Ultron fanfiction, and it will focus on Wanda, Steve, and Natasha, though the other Avengers, new and old, will be present. I will be using and abusing comic canon, so please don't get too upset about that! This first chapter is entirely in Wanda's POV, but I will be changing it up a little for each chapter. There are a few allusions to _Agents of SHIELD_ , but not enough that you have to watch the show to understand; it's more like a bonus for those who do watch the show. Also, feel free to check out my other Avengers' stories.

Chapter 1

It's the dreams that are beginning to drive her crazy. Over and over, every night she relives and rehashes the worst days of her life. And every day she wakes up only to find the present isn't any better. Those awful days she dreams about—they are heaven compared to now.

Sure, she isn't starving anymore. She gets all the food she wants. Sure, she isn't poor anymore. She has a pretty decent and steady income. Sure, she isn't friendless and ally-less anymore. She has a whole team of friends and allies.

But part of her is missing now. Her heart is missing, and her soul is split in half. No matter what she does, who she meets, or what people tell her, she lost a huge part of her that can never be replaced.

The worst part are the psychiatrists. SHIELD makes her speak to them every once in a while, and they all spout the same crap. "You have to let him go to move on." "You have to forgive him." "If you want to heal you have to accept that he's gone."

It's all a bunch of crap. How can she let him go? She never lost him, he left her. He had been _taken_ from her. She already let him go. She already has accepted that he's gone. But she can never, ever forgive him fully for leaving her.

She understands why he left. It had been for a good, worthy cause. He'd saved a father and a husband, and he'd saved a child. Someone's son, maybe even someone's brother. And yet, how could he? How could he leave her?

Growing up, they were all that each other ever had. They'd seen their parent's dead corpses together. They'd hid from the authorities together. They'd starved together. They'd undergone dangerous and nearly fatal experiments together. They'd fought together.

And he'd left her. He'd left her all alone in a harsh and dangerous world. She is a foreigner here, and to many, she's unwanted. Her team is all she knows, and all she has. Even they don't understand her, though.

What they do understand is her unwillingness to talk. They leave her be, they let her suffer in silence. They let her fend off her demons alone, for they all have their own to deal with, and she doesn't want their help anyway.

Speaking of her team, the alarm in the barracks sounds off. She'd been lying in her bunk, thinking, before any of them were up. The amount of sleep she's been receiving is not ideal, unhealthy even, but what is she to do? Waking or sleeping, her life's a mess. It's lonely, sad. And she's always angry and numb at the same time.

Around her the others get up, and she can hear them moving. She continues to lie down, though she moves her hands to channel her power. Her uniform unfolds and lays out on the end of her bed, waiting for her to dress in it. She finally slides out of the bed and the red streams of her power moves the sheets, straightening and tucking them in.

On the bunk above her Natasha Romanoff gets ready. They are the only females on the team, but are far more powerful than the others combined, with the exception of maybe Vision.

"Big day today, huh?" Natasha asks her, shooting her a small smile. The woman is the world's more dangerous and well known assassin, and she could take out entire squadrons of men without breaking a sweat, but she's actually pretty warm towards her. Maybe it has something to do with female mutual respect or something to that degree, but it's a warmth the spy doesn't share with the others.

"I'd only be worried if we weren't ready," she replies, sliding on the multiple rings she usually adorns. She can't bear to look at them anymore, since they remind of him and her parents, but she can't bear to do or go anywhere without them either.

"First big demonstration as a team in front of the council," Steve says as he approaches them. "Are you ready, Wanda?"

Wanda manages something that could be debated as a tiny smile. "What could go wrong?"

Behind her, Natasha snorts. "Everything that can go wrong will go wrong," she says, turning on her widow's bites to check to see if they work. The bracelet that attaches them to her wrists glow blue and spin, and she shuts them off.

"But we're prepared for it," Steve says resolutely. "We've never been stronger."

Natasha raises an eyebrow and touches something on her arm, and the famous red and blue shield with the shining silver star races across the room towards them. Steve steps aside, while Wanda creates a red force to bounce it away from her. The shield finally flies onto Natasha's arm, driven by the magnetic force on her uniform, and she hands it off to Steve.

"As long as you remember to pick up your stuff," she adds, a smirk on her face. Steve rolls his eyes, and the trio begins to walk to the armoury, where the others are suiting up.

Sam is finishing strapping his goggles to his face, and he snaps them against his forehead loudly before looking up at her and grinning. She nods in greeting before picking out a silver knife and strapping it to her thigh. Wanda doesn't need weapons to fight, but she likes to have some reassurance in case something goes wrong.

Natasha is hiding dozens of knives and swords into her uniform pockets and creases. She has a faraway look, a look completely different than the one Wanda is used to seeing. The spy always gets that way before a battle. It's like she's facing her past every time.

Wanda doesn't blame her for steeling herself against her past. She's seen every dark secret Natasha has, and instead of making her afraid it makes her respectful of the assassin.

Steve tucks a knife into his belt before straightening up and looking over his team. They're all misfits, even more so than the original Avengers. Rhodey in his War Machine armour, Sam with his engine pack and metal wings, Vision with his deep red skin, Wanda with her gypsy-like outfit and jewelry, and Natasha with a black catsuit and combat boots, her shoulder length red hair wavy.

In a way they are a bunch of misfits. The first few training sessions were like hell, Steve, Natasha, and Sam the only ones that could coordinate during a fight. Slowly the others adjusted, and now they can all take down an enemy without talking if necessary.

The best part of the team is the lack of fighting. Sam and Rhodey follow Steve without hesitation, Natasha only questions orders occasionally, Vision has the same idealologies as Steve, and Wanda does whatever the others say. Deep down, she really doesn't care anymore. How could she?

Steve moves his shield from his back to his arm, and he raises his chin up slightly like he always does before addressing the group.

"Remember, this is just a test, a simulation. We can handle this easily, but if for some reason something goes wrong you can stop. Get out. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of this stupid thing."

Natasha moves to stand at his right side, his second in command. "But if you do drop out you'll have not only the council to answer to, but also me."

Her threat is perceived by all, and the guys all nod vigorously. Wanda knows they're scared of her, a little bit, at least. Even Vision, who's ten times as powerful as her, gulps. If there's one thing a tough woman can do it's put the fear of God into the most powerful men of the universe.

Steve simply lets out a tiny sigh, and Wanda even thinks he rolls his eyes. She knows Steve and Natasha have a history, and obviously whatever happened to them created mutual trust and respect. Captain Rogers isn't afraid of the spy, and the spy isn't afraid of him.

"On that happy note," Steve says, "Let's go kick some butt."

* * *

Inside is a large room with a high ceiling, easily four times the size of a football field. It's empty and the walls are grey, but Wanda knows better. There's a glass window near the top of one of the walls, and though it's a one-way glass she knows the council members sit behind it, watching. Waiting. Judging.

Since the near disaster with Ultron the council demanded to have proof the Avengers are capable of protecting the earth. Silly, yes, and ridiculous, but necessary to keep them satisfied.

The room glows an eerie blue as the hologram projectors light up. The council has designed a suitable threat, and without telling the Avengers what it is they set it up. Now they have to fight it while the council is in attendance, analyzing the team.

The outline of a man flickers in orange before stabilizing. He looks normal, but there's something about his that's off besides his blue skin. Wanda can't tell, though. She tries to look into his mind but there's nothing there. It's empty.

He has no memory, no past.

"It's a Kree, I think," Natasha says. "I read about it in a SHIELD file recently. One of them came to Earth not too long ago."

"What should we know about them?" Steve asks.

"They're strong, and fast, their anatomy similar to that of the Asguardians." Natasha cocked her guns. "And it looks like this one brought company."

The whole room flickered and suddenly they were in an open field, surrounded by humans. The humans look normal, but as soon as the Kree says something they lock their eyes on the Avengers and stalk forward like lions toward their prey.

"Those aren't normal humans, are they?" Sam says with a little sigh.

"I think they are empowered in some sort of way," Vision answers. "My data—well, JARVIS' data—tells me there's been sightings of special humans lately. Humans with supernatural gifts."

"Of course," Rhodey sighs. "What's the mission, Cap?"

"Try to restrain them instead of killing them. There's seems to be no hostages around, so I think our goal is to take out the Kree man." Steve widens his stance and puts forth his shield, preparing for a fight.

"You make it sound easy," Sam says. He readies his wings and tucks his guns into his belt. "Let's see what these guys got."

The humans, about a dozen of them, each begin pairing up and running towards the Avengers. Sam and Rhodey take flight, only to their dismay to see that some of the humans can fly or levitate.

Natasha turns on her widow's bites and readies herself. Steve prepares to throw his shield, but Wanda never gets to see who the victim is before she is forced to turn her attention to her own attackers.

One of the men changes into metal midstep. She reaches for his mind but is repelled by the metal casing. The other attacker is a woman with hair that morphs into writhing snakes like the gorgons in Greek myths. Wanda is quite disgusted.

She summons the red wisps of power from within her and pushes her hands out, sending it straight at the man. It stops him for a second as he turns his back against it, but he recovers quickly. Too quickly.

The woman is upon Wanda now, and she sees the woman's nails are growing out, growing into nasty little knives which she proceeds to thrust straight at the Avenger. Wanda throws out more of her red power, and the hand is thrown back, giving Wanda enough time to step away and summon more of her hexes.

Her assailants become wise and attack her at once. She twists and turns, ducking and dodging and reflecting them and their weapons. Usually she could just mess with their minds and leave them like sitting ducks as they either relive the worst of their past or their worst nightmares, but she can't reach into the mind of the metal man, nor can she get close enough to the woman's head because of the snakes.

Even in the dense battle she feels like a goddess, the way her clothes whirl and the way her body gracefully fights against her onslaught. The power she wields is addictive, and the only reason she hasn't gone insane from it is because she's scared of it. When her brother died she lashed out with all her anger and grief, and it turned out to be more destructive than she thought possible. At the time it had seemed appropriate, but after having time to mull over it she had grown a little fearful.

What if any of her allies had been in the vicinity? They could have become injured. She is easily the most powerful on the team, and she won't be able to forgive herself if someone is hurt because she lost control of her power.

What the others don't know about her powers and Von Strucker's experiments is that is wasn't the initial experiments that killed all the other volunteers—it was the people losing control and self-destructing. She and her brother themselves had a few close calls in the early days. He'd almost run into walls at ninety miles an hour and she had almost dropped things on herself when her telekinesis had been spotty.

Wanda dodges another nail-covered hand, though it grazes her arm and causes hot pain to rush up her body. She needs to be able to waylay the woman before she can focus on the man, and the only way to waylay the woman is to put down the immediate threat (her nails) then the snakes, and then getting to her mind should be easy.

There's a million ways to get rid of the nails, but they're all gory and revolve around the idea of ripping them off. Even though this is a holographic test it still sickens Wanda that she entertains the thought for even a second. There has to be a better solution.

An idea comes. It may or may not work, but she has to try. Wanda summons the red power in her hands and flicks it toward the woman's hands. The nails bend backwards, and the woman jumps back in shock. Wanda throws the metal man a few feet away before advancing on the woman, shooting little red beams towards all the little snakes. They all start to go lax, lulled to sleep by her powers.

The woman looks scared as Wanda places her fingers near her temples, and then her eyes turn red and she scampers away, breathing heavily and lost in her worst nightmare.

Wanda turns to the metal man, who is starting to advance on her again, and lets out a tiny sigh. The woman had been the easy one; now she will really have to get creative.

As long as the man is in metal form Wanda cannot get to his mind. Find a way to make him retract back into human form and things would be a cakewalk.

Wanda fights with him, continuing to duck and dodge blows while observing for any weaknesses at the same time. She gets caught up and steps back at an odd angle, and when she drops to evade a fist she falls, crashing onto the ground. His fist follows, and she barely rolls out of the way before he smashes right where her face had been.

She rolls into a crouch, but has no time to stand before he's back on her. Throwing her arms up in front of her face, she deflects his blow, though at a painful cost. Her arm hurts like crazy. Maybe he is just a hologram but he still can hurt her.

She hears a whooshing sound above her and flattens herself on the ground. The metal man screams in pain as a huge gash appears along his back. His skin starts turning peachy again and Wanda leaps up, nearly throwing her fingers in his face as she summons her power. The metal man—now normal man—lashes out, though not at her. He is deeply lost in his worst memory, courtesy of Wanda.

Rhodey salutes as he flies overhead and heads back to assist the others. She nods in return and begins to run over to where the others are fighting. Scanning the field, she sees Natasha is down to one opponent, the other writhing in pain at her feet—a sign of the widow's bite—and Steve is still facing off two, though they are pretty banged up. Falcon and Rhodey are fighting a couple in the air, and Vision is hand-to-hand combat with another, his other opponent lying unconscious at his feet. The Kree warrior looks on with a straight face, though Wanda knows better. He's disappointed his little army is losing.

Steve shoves off his opponents with his shield and nods toward the alien before facing his attackers again. Wanda starts running at a sprint towards the blue man, wishing—not for the first time—that her brother could be with her, at her side fighting. Or even just there for support and comfort.

He's gone, though, and she has to face it. She has to face her worst nightmare and her worst memory. And at the moment she also has to face an alien warrior.

The Kree spots her and pulls out a spear from a back sheath, wielding it defensively in front of him. Wanda approaches cautiously, reminding herself of her own knife. If she can't get into his mind things could get messy.

"You wouldn't hurt a girl," she says, hoping she can play her cards right. The Kree man simply snorts in response.

"I have faced many female warriors, and none of them are below saying that," he replies. "I saw you take down two of my pet Inhumans."

"Then you noticed I didn't lift a weapon against them," she counters, taking a few tiny steps forward. They are circling each other, though she has no weapons except her mind drawn.

"Well worded," he laughs. "Except I know your weapon. It lies inside of you, much like my warriors. Only yours has been _placed_ , not awakened. You're a science experiment and they are purely natural."

"Experiment, nature, it doesn't really matter in the end, does it?" Wanda challenges. "What matters is how I use it." She jumps forward lithely and extends an arm, hoping to reach into his mind and catch him off guard, but he knocks her hand away almost playfully with his spear.

"And you can't use it unless you get close to me." He waves the spear in front of him. "But you are right, I have many advantages you do not. So I'll even things out a little, eh? My raw power against yours."

He sheaths his spear and faces her off, hands in fists in front of him. _This is good,_ Wanda tries to assure herself. _Makes my job easier._

Except that he's an alien, and his natural strength rivals that of even the strongest Asgard warriors. His shoves forward, and Wanda goes flying backwards several feet, landing hard on the ground. Her breath is knocked away and it is all she can do to struggle to her feet again, wiping a small trickle of blood from her nose.

A little anger surges through her. How dare he do that? He's not even real! Wanda starts toward him at a dead run, turning sharply only when he's less than a foot away. He leaned forward to hit her, and she kicked at the back of his knees, shaking his already bad balance. He manages to catch himself, but not before she kicks at his back, using it as a springboard to launch herself a few feet away. He falls, and when he leaps to his feet again he has anger in his eyes.

"This is a battle you cannot win, weakling," he hisses, and his charges forward. She turns and runs, hoping some sort of plan will occur. She makes it no more than a few feet before he dives, grabbing her legs and pulling her towards the ground with him. Thrashing her feet, she continues to crawl forward, though her resistance is futile against his strength.

Suddenly he is thrown off her, and Wanda sees Falcon struggling to fly with the Kree. The alien rips one of the wings off the Avenger, and the two begin to plummet. Wanda uses her telekinesis to guide them safely down to the ground before she stands, and Captain America himself takes on the warrior, having finally disposed of his own opponents.

Wanda sets off at a jog towards the battle. In the sky she sees Rhodey finishing off the last powered human in the air, and even as she watches Black Widow hits her last opponent hard enough to knock him out. The spy makes eye contact with Wanda and nods, and the two take up Steve's flank.

The Kree warrior fights viciously, his spear brought out again and flashing as it whirls side to side, clanging metallically as it bounces off Steve's shield. Falcon is pulling a cord on his engine that enables the extra wing, and Vision is on the other side of the Kree, also trading blows.

Although Steve and Vision are extremely powerful, they are also worn down and exhausted, while the Kree is relatively fresh. The scales are tipped to his side, at least until Natasha sneaks in and jumps on his back, pulling a knife from one of her many hiding places and forcing him to battle on three fronts.

Now the alien is the one to wear down, and Wanda ducks under Steve's arm. Natasha pulls on his hair and wrestles his head back, and Scarlet Witch is able to send her power through his head. Instead of sending him into a memory or a nightmare she shuts down his brain, sending him into sleep.

The field around them flickers and dissipates away until it is only the Avengers and some discarded weapons of theirs in the big room. The lights dim and the exit door opens, seemingly summoned.

"Good job, gang," Steve says as they slowly, tiredly, walk toward the exit door. They have passed, it seems, though now they have to hear what the council has to say about it.

There is no council to answer to. No one to tell them how they did, no one to criticize them. Instead there's a memo from "The Director of SHIELD", who seems to be a mystery.

"What does it say?" Rhodey asks as Steve picks up the white sheet of paper on the empty desk in the empty room.

"It says we passed but we need additional training before being assigned a real mission. They're sending us on a few smaller ones." Steve sighs and puts the paper down.

"Again?" Natasha frowns. "This isn't right. We're ready. The way we all fought without need for communication, without clashing once—we're in better shape than the old Avengers."

"They want something more from us," Vision observes. "The other times the Avengers were called in those had been last-minute and last-case scenarios. This time they're training us for something special."

"But what?" Sam asks. "How bad could it possibly be if we're deemed 'not ready'?"

"That's a good question," Steve replies, though he doesn't have an answer. No one does. And there's no one's minds for Wanda to read and find the answer from.

"I think the first question should be who the director of SHIELD should be," she says. A deep-rooted fear sits in her. What if the director is actually HYDRA? Or even AIM or any of those enemy corporations? SHIELD has had bad eggs in their midst before, what's to stop them from sneaking in again?

"Whoever it is has connections to Fury," Steve puts in. "Fury couldn't have built this base himself or designed those transport ships and the helicarrier. Someone's behind this, and he trusts that person."

"But do we trust Fury?" Natasha asks. "I used to, but after the whole Winter Soldier affair…" She trails off, knowing everyone can follow her thought process. Fury had faked his death without telling anyone except Hill and a small, close team, and he more than likely had details about the HYDRA infiltration that he hadn't chosen to share.

"Looks like we'll have to find out ourselves," Rhodey says, and the Avengers tread wearily back to their bunker to take showers and change out of their uniforms.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: So this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I meant, but oh well. I think you'll enjoy it :) We have Natasha's POV, Sam's POV, and Steve's POV in this chapter, some past Steggy, a few hints of Romanogers, some past Clintasha and Brutasha, and some Steve and Sam bromance. We can also find some hints at CA: Civil War if you look close enough. There's a lot of hints at characterization, so I hope you catch those.

Basically this is a loaded chapter, and I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

The night air is cool on the roof of the SHIELD base, and the stars are far enough away from the city to be seen. If she squints closely enough she can even see some of the closer planets.

A nice breeze cuts through the warm summer air, blowing her shoulder-length hair around. The loose strands tickle her bare skin on her neck softly, and she wonders to herself why she doesn't come out more often. It's silent besides the distant sound of recruits running drills far below, and she can clearly hear the quiet footsteps that patter along, drawing near her.

"Didn't know you were the scenery type," Steve says as he settles down next to her. Although she's crouched on her feet he simply makes himself comfortable as if he's ready to stay for a while. A bold move, especially since neither of them know where their relationship stands right now. Friends? Co-workers? Colleagues? A lot has happened lately.

"Didn't know I was either," Natasha replies. She decides a talk can't be too bad, and she finally settles down, too. To be honest, with her type of lifestyle she hasn't had the time to explore her own interests and hobbies. Her whole life has been one of killing and manipulating, a dark life that wears on one after as many years as she's been in the business.

Most of her past nights have been spent either on a mission or in bed with someone, usually a target at that. She's never had the luxury of defining herself, especially when she trained to obey all orders from her bosses. Whoever hires her, and whoever pays her. She does their bidding as quickly and efficiently as possible. And after living in the dark for so long and seeing—being—the worst of humanity, beauty seems like something beyond her reach. It seems superficial, only on the surface, something she can use to manipulate men.

After Clint saves her and helps put her on the path to redemption she pulls herself out of a bottomless pit, though with the missions SHIELD sends her on she still resides in _a_ pit. It has only been after meeting Steve and Bruce that her life seems to improve, that she manages to get hold of a ladder and start to climb up.

Steve is her best friend, or as close to a friend as she can have in this business. They're partners, too—after the Battle of New York Clint left SHIELD, and Fury partners Steve and Natasha together. At first things had been shaky, but eventually they fall into a rhythm and began to work tangently, starting with little missions before slowly building up to world security matters. During the SHIELD fallout Steve and Natasha had worked together, and Sam with them, and their friendship finally defined itself, though between being together a lot and flirting the line has blurred quite drastically.

So even though Steve is her closest friend, she doesn't always feel completely comfortable with him. When the Avengers start assembling to take down HYDRA bases, a protocol Natasha finds out is called "theta protocol"—yes, she may have spied on Maria Hill a little—she grows closer to Bruce Banner. He's a nice guy, and she does genuinely think something good can come out of their relationship. Natasha had worried about Steve; Peggy had been progressively getting worse, and Shannon moved out to work for the CIA, so Steve had been alone. He'd been tracking down leads on the Winter Soldier with Sam, and frankly Natasha had become jealous.

The Black Widow jealous. Who would have thought? But those times she's flirted with him—they weren't _just_ all a game. Steve is attractive, especially to her, and she hoped he could prioritize her a little more. Maybe that's why she pushes towards someone. Although at the time she tells herself it's because she genuinely likes Banner, maybe the truth deep down is that she really likes Steve and has grown jealous. Or maybe she just wants to be closer friends with him, but he's too busy finding Bucky.

Then her subconscious plan backfires. She actually starts to have feelings for Banner, and her life grows way complicated. She begins to trust him, and he her, and she flirts with him. Made him feel like he's special. In return, he does the same—and he actually means it. Maybe that's why she falls for him; he doesn't care about her past, he doesn't care that she can never have a family, he doesn't care that she'll always be a killer. He liked her, and she made the mistake of allowing herself to return the feelings.

Then he leaves her. She begs him to stay, and he leaves.

"Are you mad at him for leaving?" Steve asks softly, echoing her thoughts. Natasha sighs, pulling herself back into the present. Dwelling in the past for too long has never helped her any.

"I don't know," she answers honestly. "I don't know how I feel. I don't even know who I am."

She looks away, not being able to bear looking at him. Anger wells in her, but it's not against Banner. It's against Steve. Life has always been easy for him. Sure, standing up to bullies as a sickly child isn't easy, but it is a whole lot easier than _not_ knowing who you stand against or what you stand for. Her life has just been one of obedience. She never has had the option of choosing and believing, at least not until she converted to SHIELD. Even then, though, she followed Fury and Clint around like a lost puppy, following their every command.

Then Steve shows up, him and his Captain America-ness, America's Golden Boy, and he stands upon a firm rock, knowing exactly what he tolerates as right and wrong. In his mind there are no grey areas, while in her mind everything is grey. Things are simple to him, not like they are to her. Like their relationship, for instance; they used to be best friends, confidants, but now they're awkward around each other, keeping things secret and bottled up. And it's not because of their pasts; it's because they drifted away from each other and can't seem to find their way back.

He surprises her with his answer, though. "I don't either, anymore." She turns to look at him, and she sees in his blue eyes a sort of childlike openness. He's telling the truth, just like he always does. Maybe he does see grey areas now. Maybe he can't see exactly where their relationship is, either, and is trying to figure it out. Maybe he's just as lost as she is. For some reason that thought makes her feel better, though she knows it shouldn't.

"When we were fighting Ultron…when we were trying to get his body in the cradle, and you were getting it to the Avengers, and you fell…I left you." Steve shakes his head. "They all questioned me, whether it came out verbally or in the way they looked at me. I knew it had been a wrong choice to leave you, but I made a different call."

"It was the right call, though. I would have made it a million times." Natasha is stunned by the regret in his voice. It is as if he's reliving awful memories. She always thinks he's an optimist, but maybe it's all an act. She knows he has weaknesses, vulnerabilities, but maybe there's tons of sorrow and grief hidden under his rock-hard stance. Maybe he's not as over Peggy as she had thought. Perhaps he's still regretting not being able to reach Bucky.

This time it is Steve who looks away. "I've changed a lot, Romanoff. Years ago I would have never made that call. Once the body had been secured I should have gone looking for you. I never used to leave a soldier behind, and the one time I did…" He shakes his head as if trying to clear it out. She instantly knows what he's referring to-Barnes himself. He'd fallen off the train and Steve had left him, thinking he had died. He hadn't, though, and is now running around having an existential crisis between good, caring Bucky and strong, heartless Winter Soldier.

Still, she wants to retaliate, to say, "Well years ago for you was when my grandparents were young" or "Today is way different than a few years ago", but she knows they aren't true for him. His attitude, his beliefs aren't so easily swayed, and yet here he is, admitting his faults. _Regretting._

Natasha herself has never had to deal with the guilt of leaving someone behind. The only person she has ever risked a mission for is Clint, and that's because she owed him a debt. Now she's repaid that debt, but she will still go back for him in a heartbeat. Still, other than that, she has no relation to what he's saying. In the falling scenarios, she's always Bucky. She's always the one who falls, and who doesn't always know whether she's good and caring or strong and heartless. In her life as a spy, she's been both.

Instead she goes for another point. "Since when did you start calling me Romanoff?" she asks. It seems like only a little thing, and maybe no one other than her would have noticed, but to her it is a big deal.

Steve looks up in surprise, as if he thinks she already knows the answer. "What else am I supposed to call you?" he questions back. It sounds casual enough, but she senses something deep down, as if he is denying something to himself or keeping something locked away deep down.

"You used to call me 'Natasha'. Sometimes 'Nat.'" She stands, catching a cool breeze. The conversation has turned directions she doesn't want to explore, so she does what she always does: she leaves. Walks away. Call it cowardly, but the only way to move on it to keep going forward and to not look back. Perhaps this is why she and Banner hit it off; they both run from their problems. Before the battle Banner had wanted to leave, and after he had left, not wanting to face the world after the incident in Africa. She had told him that he's different because he doesn't fight. She had been right; he just runs from his problems, and so does she.

She feels his eyes on her back as she leaves, but he says nothing. That's just as well with her; she doesn't have any other comments either.

* * *

Everyone in the team is awake and moving before dawn's rays touches the ground. For Sam, Steve, and Rhodey it's a natural, habitual thing; for years they served in the military, conditioned to rise early. For Natasha it's a defensive thing; sleeping while others around her are awake give them the advantage, and though she trusts them all she can't help but submit to too many years she's lived in a defensive, constantly alert mode. For Vision it's normal: he doesn't need as much sleep as the others do. And for Wanda, it's something she does to ward away the awful nightmares and memories.

Even so, Sam is the one who wakes up last on this Sunday morning. Sundays are their day off, though none of them have much to do or anywhere to go, so they all just hang around.

He finds Natasha in the training room, teaching Rhodey some of her martial arts moves. They nod as he walks past, then return to their dangerous dance. Wanda is sitting at a table in the mess hall alone, staring off into space while telekinetically swirling the milk in her glass with her finger absently. She doesn't even notice him walking by. Vision is outside, talking with a group of agents also on their day off. He tends to be a crowd-favourite, and he waves as Sam continues on.

Steve, who he has been looking for, is sitting on the roof, sketching idly in his notebook. His art is something everyone often forgets, though Sam knows it means a lot to the soldier. Art is one thing Steve has always been talented with, and he brings pieces of his past into the present with his work.

But that doesn't mean he likes to share. Steve closes his notebook as Sam appears, setting it off to the side as he greets him. "Have a nice sleep in?"

"Yeah," Sam replies, taking a seat next to the captain. Even though he's been looking for the man, he's still silent, trying to internally decide if he should bring the issue up now.

"You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to," Steve says. He has always been a much better reader than people give him credit for, especially with those close to him, so Sam isn't surprised. He knows Steve is intelligent, great at observing and analyzing. He's rarely ever caught off guard.

"It's just…It's about Barnes." Sam gives Steve a moment to think, a moment to process. He knows how close Steve and Bucky were, at least until the fall. Then Barnes had returned, and he hadn't come for peace. He'd come with an assignment: stop Captain America.

"What about him?" Steve asks, and though his tone sounds casual Sam can hear an undertone to it.

"We did never find him," Sam reminds the soldier. "I know he left with his own mind, but what if HYDRA finds him again? They can erase everything we worked for."

Steve sighs, as if he has already thought this through. He probably has. "He's the Winter Soldier. If he doesn't want to be found then we, nor any other corporation, will be able to find him. He'll come to us when he's ready."

Sam nods, though he suspected Steve would say that. He then turns the conversation over. "What are we really doing here?" Sam is talking about the new Avengers. They've been living in this SHIELD facility for a few months now, and barely any assignments have been given. They've just been training and training, seemingly aimlessly. So what are they really doing here?

Steve looks away, defeat showing on his face. This is one of the times he's not been able to read something correctly, one of the rare times he's been caught off guard. "Natasha and I did this to help save people, to protect the world from what they can't protect themselves from. Now? Now it seems we're being sharpened into a weapon. _The_ weapon." The weapon for what, though? That's the real, silent question that neither of them have an answer for.

"You don't trust Fury or the Director," Sam realised. It shouldn't be a surprise, not since Steve is all about doing what is right, not what gets the job done, and he's clashed with SHIELD before. (Cue the whole sequence of events from the SHIELD/HYDRA fallout that forced Sam to get into all of this in the first place). No, Steve isn't just disagreeing with SHIELD, he's thinking about going _against_ the corporation. He doesn't want a repeat of the whole helicarrier and targeting algorithm thing, it seems, especially if this time _he's_ the helicarrier. And if he's manipulated into doing something other than helping people and stopping the bad guys...

SHIELD really _has_ changed from what Peggy Carter started seventy years ago.

"What do the others think?" Sam questions. Rogers just shakes his head. "I haven't mentioned anything to them. Natasha knows the ins and outs, but the others haven't seen yet."

"When are you going to tell them?" It isn't a simple matter of having a press conference and rebelling. This is a big deal. Should the Avengers go out on their own and protect the world as they see fit or should they stay in SHIELD and let tensions run high until everything explodes? Neither are great options, especially since SHIELD provides protection for them. If they go out on their own then all the governments of the world can rant and rage against them, maybe even forcing them to either stop or cooperate. What if they even have to register their powers/enhancements and weaknessess so they can be shut down and taken out if necessary? This could blow up into something huge, something bigger than just them, especially if they split and disagree within the Avengers.

"When it matters," Steve answers. "At this point, none of them really care. You've been on a team with them. You've seen them. Can you look me in the eye and honestly say they care about SHIELD or what SHIELD is doing? All they care about is saving lives, and at this point that is all that matters. I'm glad you're observant, and when the time comes you'll be invaluable. For now, though, we just don't mention it."

Sam agrees. The others—they aren't really all in it like he and Steve and Natasha. Without her brother Wanda is lost, only caring about saving the world. Rhodey, too, just wants to save lives, and Vision's whole purpose in life is to protect humanity. They don't care that they're a weapon as long as they're doing what is right. And for now, that is what the team is doing.

Steve stands, slapping Sam on the back in a friendly manner. "But if a weapon is what SHIELD wants, let's give them a weapon to be afraid of."

"Are you challenging me to a few rounds?" Sam teasingly asks. "Because you should know you're going down."

The two trade smiles and head towards the training room to work out, leaving all traces of the conversation to the wind.

* * *

"You boys are pathetic," Natasha taunts, stepping up to the ring and leaning on the ropes, observing them. "Wow, Steve, you're starting to look your age. Maybe we should go to the smithsonian and find your friend's fossils. I'm guessing the Jurassic era, what do you think?"

"Very funny," he replies between his clenched teeth as he ducks from under Sam. The Falcon isn't a hard opponent, but his fighting style is a unique one. It's a mix of what Natasha has taught him and what the Air Force has taught him, and until Steve learns it he'll have to be on the defensive, not the offensive.

Steve catches Sam's punch and pins his arm down, using his leg to sweep Sam's out from under him and finally pinning his whole body down. He holds him for a few seconds before jumping up, and Sam hops out of the ring, wiping away the sweat from his skin.

"Now that's a fight I want to see," Sam says.

"Who?"

"You and Natasha." Natasha smiles slyly, raising her eyebrow in that quirky way she does.

"Okay. Challenge accepted." She carefully ducks under the top rope and steps over the bottom rope, moving her body gracefully and seductively, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

All the agents start gathering around the ring, eager to watch the two senior Avengers face off. Steve has his super soldier serum and quick reflexes to his advantage, and Natasha has her speed, knowledge of dozens of fighting styles, and years of practicing to her advantage.

All in all, a fight of the world's most famous soldier against the world's most famous spy.

Natasha doesn't even bother to put her hair up as she casually lingers in one corner. Steve shakes his arms out a little and copies her stance. The two trade glances for a few tense seconds, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Ladies first," Steve teases, and Natasha raises up a smirk.

"Okay, but don't tell me you didn't know what you were getting into." She runs forward and Steve opens his stance to deflect her, but she slides to the side and wraps a leg around his, trying to trip him. His balance is impeccable, though, and he puts his weight on his other leg, stepping aside and facing her again.

Natasha grins in amusement. "Playing hard to get, are you?" She flips forward, getting in a position to get his head between her thighs and tries to flip him by using his own weight against him. His reflexes kick in, and midair when she releases her grip he continues the flip, landing in a crouch on the opposite side of the ring.

"That's your signature move. You're going to have to try harder to trick me," he returns. She smiles a small smile and this time lets him attack first. He tries to grab her arm and she deflects, flipping backwards and kicking a leg out to sweep his knees. He jumps straight up, avoiding tripping, and grabs her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back and against him. She uses his hold to her advantage, twisting his arm back behind his back. He strikes out with his free hand and she retreats before running forward. He holds out his arms in front of him defensively. She moves to his six o'clock and jumps on his back, pulling sideways to try and throw him off balance. He pulls her off and throws her forward, and she lands on all fours like a cat.

The two continue trading blows and fighting, him holding back his strength so as not to hurt her. She is as ruthless as ever, though she lets him get away sometimes. Part of her doesn't want the fight to end. She likes being in an environment where they can tease each other and be close without being awkward or broaching dangerous subjects. This is what she misses from their missions that they used to go on for SHIELD, just the two of them.

Finally Steve manages to get her down on the ground, and he pins her wrists down with his hands and uses one leg to hold down her legs from kicking up.

If this had been a real fight Natasha would thrust her head forward, hitting his forehead hard and hopefully startling him, but this is only practice so she lays her head back, smiling up at him coyly. His face is close to hers, closer than it's been in months, and she wishes he could just stay there forever. She takes the time to examine his eyes, his clear, open, blue eyes. They're timeless, and hold oceans of sadness deep down.

The moment lingers for a few seconds longer than necessary before Steve lets her go and stands up, offering his hand. She takes it, making sure to not miss the warmth of his hand or the calluses that decorate it.

"Maybe next time," he jokes lightly. Natasha rolls her eyes and gives him a look so that he clearly knows she let him win.

"Next time I won't go easy on you," she replies. The agents around the ring break off, trading money and chatting excitedly.

"Man, you are so screwed," Sam tells Steve. Steve gives him a _seriously?_ look and Natasha and Sam fist bump.

"I had him wrapped around my finger the entire time," Natasha claims, shooting Steve a look that dares him to argue. He just smiles, humouring her, and the trio heads down to the mess hall to get lunch.

* * *

In the mess hall the team sits together, a habit they had fallen into in the early days. Vision pokes the food suspiciously, and the others try to convince him the greasy slop on his plate is pizza and yes, it's edible, and yes, it's good.

Wanda keeps giving Steve odd glances, and he decides to talk to her later. She obviously has something on her mind, and frankly her looks are unsettling. She may be a quiet one, but her eyes are piercing, as if they're reading straight into your soul (or into your mind).

Sam is picking at his food thoughtfully, though he is barely putting any of it into his mouth. Steve knows he's dwelling on their past conversation.

Rhodey eats his portion quickly, a habit left over from his time serving in the military. He's quiet, though he adds to the conversation at times.

Natasha is smiling, flirting, and joking, though Steve knows it's not all authentic. He knows she's still upset over Banner ditching her, and she's also worried because once again Fury is keeping secrets.

Steve himself eats a mountain. Not out of gluttony—definitely not, he had been raised by a poor immigrant woman who hardly had enough money for one meal a day—but out of necessity. The serum has drastically changed his body in many good ways, but one downside is that he needs lots of food to keep his metabolism running well.

"Once Steve is done devouring all of China I think we should get out," Natasha suggests.

"Get out?" Sam asks, looking up. That's not something they've ever done before.

"Yeah," she says. "We have a few hours of free time, and I think we all need a change of scenery."

Steve knows she's getting at something else, though he can't quite tell what it is. The others don't notice, but that's because they haven't worked with her as long as he has.

Whatever it is it must be important, so Steve supports her proposition. "Sure. Sounds like a good idea. I'm game."

The others finally agree, Wanda simply nodding her head once. She's tough, and the strongest one on the whole team, but Steve doesn't know why she committed to being on it. She lost everything, and she seems to not particularly care about anything. He'll have to ask her about that later, too.

Natasha sneaks them off the base (well, not really sneak, but they didn't exactly mention where they were going or that they were going anywhere at all, but who's going to stop them?) and she drives them around in a bright yellow sports car, cramming Vision, Wanda, Sam, and Rhodey in the back while she drives and Steve gets front seat privileges.

She drives twenty minutes into downtown New York, windows down and rock music blasting. Steve glances in the mirror and sees Vision staring in wonder at all the people around in the city. He had been created to protect humanity, he'd decided that the moment he'd seen the city lights, but Steve knows that every time he sees more people he's once again amazed by them.

Natasha drives to a popular bar, parking in the handicapped spot. When Steve protests she turns to him and says with a smirk, "You are in your nineties, after all. What if you fall and break something? I still think you need life alert."

Steve rolls his eyes. She'll never stop being amused by jokes about his age, and he knows it. In the back Sam trades a smile with her.

"Come on, man. Stop encouraging her," Steve says to the man.

"This is just payback for all those 'on your lefts'," Sam retorts. "Don't blame me. You put this on yourself."

The others pile out the back. The bouncer at the front takes in the group, only raising his eyebrow at Vision. The good thing about New York is that everyone is crazy, and if you look weird no one thinks twice.

The man did, however, try and stop Wanda. She does look quite young, but Natasha sidles up to the man and whispers something in his ear seductively, and he lets them in, his face extremely pale. Natasha simply smiles sweetly, and Steve is glad he's on her good side.

Inside the bar colorful strobe lights blink on dancers all around. Steve and Rhodey head straight for the bar while Natasha leads Wanda somewhere else. Vision just stands in the middle of it, soaking everything up. Sam instantly tries to get a dance partner and minutes later he's on the dance floor, a beautiful woman with him.

There's a flurry of old veterans and even younger ones at the bar, and Steve and Rhodey trade war stories with them, Steve careful to make sure he didn't mention which war he had served in. Rhodey uses his regular story that everyone seems to find hilarious, and Steve smiles for his benefit, though he's heard it hundreds of times.

For the most part, though, Steve sits on a stool near the wall at the bar, sipping from his drink and watching the people. Times have changed, and he's been through so much, but all he can think of is Peggy and how he owed her a dance. How he'd just left her.

 _"Peggy."_

 _"I'm here," she said quietly, her voice composed despite the sadness in it._

 _"I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance." His eyes stung as he said the words._

 _"Alright. A week next Saturday at the Stork Club."_

 _"You got it," Steve replied._

 _"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?" Peggy ordered._

 _"You know, I still don't know how to dance."_

 _"I'll show you how. Just be there."_

 _"We'll have the band play something slow. I'd hate to step on your—"_

"I can take you back," a heavily-accented voice says next to him. Steve looks over to see Wanda standing to his right. She has a sympathetic look on her face, like one that knows loss. "I can show you what it would have been like if you had made it."

Steve hesitates. He's been trying to let Peggy go, but what's the danger of visiting one memory? What's the risk of dreaming things had been different. He'd already seen one vision of Peggy, though, and that hadn't made things better. But he feels like he needs to find closure at the same time.

"If it isn't a problem," he replies. Wanda responds by putting her hand near his temple and sending her red wisps of power towards him. Suddenly he's transported to the past.

He's still sitting at a bar, though now he's dressed in full uniform, decorations covering his chest. Other soldiers and their girls surround him, but he's not looking for them. He's waiting for someone special to walk through the door.

And here she comes, more beautiful than ever. Her red dress matched the color of her lipstick and reach down just below the knee, her sleeves barely long enough to cover her shoulders. She walks in confidently, her heels clicking against the floor, and all eyes glance her way and stare. She's not purposefully trying to get their attention, but she's so beautiful, so _powerful_ that she just does.

Steve stands and takes one of her hands in his, staring straight into her dark eyes. She smiles a small smile, though her eyes say it all: she's more than glad he's here.

"Shall we dance?" he proposes.

"I don't know," she replies. "Are you my right partner?"

He hears the teasing in her tone, and he smiles in response. "If I'm not I can't imagine who would be. And you did promise to teach me."

"I suppose I did," she says, and leads him out to the dance floor. She gently adjusts his hands and feet, starting him off on the right foot (both literally and metaphorically). He learns how to dance quickly, and soon they're twirling as if they've both been dancing for their whole lives.

The band plays a slow song, and Peggy lays her head against his chest as she moves right up next to him and they turn in slow circles.

"I didn't think you were going to make it," she whispers.

"How could I not? I owed you a date," he lightly replies, trying to tone down the seriousness.

"Well, I'm glad you're here." She pulls a little away and looks up at him. "Remember when I used to have to look down to you?"

He smiles. "It would have been easier to do this," he says, and leans down to kiss her. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he moves his arms to encompass her back. Everything is perfect, just it should be.

When they pull away her chocolate eyes are bright. "It was worth the wait," she tells him. "All of this—" she motions around them "—it was all worth waiting for."

"And you were worth surviving for," Steve replies, pulling her close again. Nothing could go wrong, not in her care, not when his arms are wrapped around her, holding her close so she can't ever get away from him.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: This chapter is pretty full of things, too. I've decided to throw in something new, something I, nor very many other fanfics, have explored: Dark!Steve. I think it fits in, but you'll have to tell me if it works or not. Also, I hope to update every Wednesday unless I mention otherwise :)

Chapter 3

Steve blinks, and the vision clears. Wanda is looking at him sadly, and he knows she saw the whole thing. Felt the whole thing. Whether they like it or not, the two of them have a connection now. Though didn't they already? They've both come from the same place-both volunteered to be experimented on by German scientists to help fight, both lost a man they considered their brother, and both are now struggling with who they are and what they want out of life.

Wanda seems about to say something when Natasha shows up, looking between the two of them. "We're out of that awful facility, and you two hide in the corner? Party poopers."

Wanda slinks away to who knows where, but not before making eye contact with Steve. _Talk to me later,_ she's practically begging with a look. He wants to talk to her now, but Natasha slides onto the stool next to him, and she stares at him a moment before speaking. "She took you into the past, didn't she?" There's something in her voice, something akin to an emotion Steve is not overly familiar with. Is it perhaps _jealousy?_ But Black Widow does not get jealous.

"Something like that," he replies, not really wanting to discuss it. Natasha is his best friend, but some things are still too soon, too raw to talk about. And she won't understand. Natasha hasn't ever really fallen in love with someone, not in a way that would make her understand Steve.

"Just some advice from one friend to another—leave the past in the past." Natasha places her drink on the counter. "Keeps things easier." He's not sure if she's talking to him or herself. During the Ultron incident Wanda had shown them all their greatest fears in some form of vision, and Steve had offered, from one friend to another, to listen to Natasha. She especially had been suffering from whatever she saw, but she didn't want to talk to Steve about it. Instead she gave him the cold shoulder and ran straight into Banner's unraised arms, and look where that had left her.

Is that _bitterness_ in his voice? Is he bitter about her wanting Banner's comfort instead of his own? What has he come to?

"Kinda hard to do when my past keeps coming back to the present," Steve mutters, though not in an argumentative way, trying to push away those stubborn and disturbing thoughts. He believes her advice is good, but he's still upset that she didn't talk to him. He thought that after the SHIELD fallout they trusted each other. He had worked hard to earn her trust, and then she had just handed it to Bruce on a platter. In all rights he deserves to feel this way, but he feels bad about it. This isn't his normal self. There's another force at work within him, one that's turning right and wrong into a twisted, tangled thread instead of a clear, thick line.

"I told you you might not want to pull on the Winter Soldier thread," she says. Steve shakes his head. This isn't about Bucky, but he can't just tell her that. He can't admit he still is in love with Peggy even after all the two of them have been through together. He feels like it would hurt her in a way, and he can't let her get hurt. _Even though Natasha hurt me, and still is hurting me. And I'm letting her, just laying myself out while she destroys me and turns me into something I'm not_ , a dark part of his mind whispers. He can barely fight the shudder that runs through him. He knows its a lie, but can't help but think that there might be some truth in it.

"I've let that go. Bucky doesn't want to be found, but when he does he'll come to me." Steve stares into the bottom of his cup, not being able to look her in the eye. Everything has changed, especially between them. What if she really is turning him bad? Maybe not on purpose, but somehow he's been thinking cruel and unfair thoughts recently, all of them focused on her. And Steve is afraid of it. What if he's not a good man anymore? And, even worse, what if it is because of Natasha?

Natasha reaches over and places a hand on his arm, and he resists to urge to pull away. "I've been through brainwashing, and I've been through the same training he's been through. If I've managed to salvage some good from myself out of that, then Barnes definitely can. He has infinitely more good in him than I ever had."

"Don't sell yourself short," Steve protests, though deep down those thoughts rise up again. What if she hasn't changed at all? What if she is still as dark and bad as she had been back in the Red Room? _Think positive,_ he shouts at himself. He knows about her dark past, but he still can hardly believe she went through such dark places. The woman he's known has always been a good person, at least deep down. _Or maybe she's just manipulating you again. She_ is _Black Widow._ "You've come a long way since I first met you, and I know that you were pretty far along by then," he forces out, though luckily she doesn't pick up on that.

"Not far enough," she murmurs, barely loud enough for him to hear. He doesn't reply for a moment, just stares at the tiled floor with a pensive expression gracing his face. Inside, though, he's a storm. Raging and covered in dark clouds. A typhoon is raining overhead, and nothing he knows seems right anymore. The firm foundation he established himself on is starting to crumble, and suddenly he just needs to get away. He doesn't trust Natasha anymore, he knows that. She lost his trust when she turned her back on him and went running to Banner. He should know that all their intimate moments were just lies, her getting into him, using him, manipulating him, twisting him around and creating something bad out of the good in him. Everything Black Widow touches turns black. Why is he too blind to see that?

Then the good part of Steve shines through, the part that is fighting against the invading and ever-growing darkness. Natasha doesn't, and has never, believed she deserves redemption. She barely thought she earned his trust, let alone others' trust. In her eyes he can see the darkness, deep down and foreboding. If she can forgive herself things will be much easier, but for some reason she can't. And it's probably the same reason that Steve can't forgive her, either.

"You brought us here for more than a drink," Steve finally says, looking up at her. Natasha nods, and motions toward the door. Steve hesitates, part of him scared to bow to her will. What if she uses him again? He pushes it away, though, and they slip out, leaving their comrades behind in the hot and pulsing bar.

The duo walks down the street a few feet, just getting past the parking lot to a quiet place. She crosses her arms and stares into the ground for a few seconds before speaking. Steve waits quietly and patiently, though inside he's still waging a war.

"I'm sorry about our conversation last night," Natasha says, and pauses. Apologizing is still a new thing to her, and Steve lets her take all the time she needs. And inside, this works as a victory for the goodness in him. Her apologizing is just like throwing all those bad things about her away. She _is_ good. She _does_ feel. She _does_ care. "I wasn't being entirely truthful with you, and it's because I'm not ready to be. There are things I just can't…I can't talk about. And I know you're my friend and you're just trying to help me, but some things I have to work out on my own."

"I understand," Steve replies honestly. He does. He hasn't been able to talk to anyone seriously about Bucky, and God knows he hasn't moved on from Peggy yet, let alone even touched those feelings of the darkness inside of him. Truth be told, they've been in him since the SHIELD fallout. Ever since his world of stark black and white turned into one of varying shades of grey, he's been doubting things. And his firm foundation has slowly been wearing away, until now. Now it's so worn it's almost useless. He doesn't know if he can salvage it, and it scares him. No, it _terrifies_ him.

Natasha nods, though she doesn't seem satisfied with the discussion. To be honest, Steve isn't either. Something seems missing.

Things between them have been drastically differently since the Ultron incident. Maybe part of it has been that the two of them were used to being a small team of two with the backup of the STRIKE team and then suddenly they were thrown in with four others, or maybe it's because she and Bruce started to build a relationship. More likely it had been a mixture of both, but whatever it is, things have been awkward. Like when you have a few classes with a friend and the two of you are super close and then summer vacation comes and when school starts again you have to start the relationship all over again, and things are awkward and strange.

Steve has missed Natasha a lot even though she's been with him for the past few months. She hasn't really been with him, and he knows it, because a part of her left with Banner in the quinjet and never returned. She'd worn her heart on her sleeve for the first time and it had been ripped away from her.

As much as Steve respects Banner, he can't but help feel a little bit of enmity towards him. He could have come back and joined the team and worked through his problems, or at the least he could have said goodbye, but instead he left Natasha all alone and broken, a mess that wasn't Steve's to clean up. Instead the soldier has to watch the spy try and clean herself up and fail.

 _That is why she's a good person_ , the good part of him tells the darkness. _She's_ trying. _And she'll always be trying._

It works to push back the bad significantly, and he wants to keep it at bay, so Steve starts to head back into the bar, saying, "We should probably start to head back."

"Yeah," Natasha replies, though she sounds like she's barely listening, like she's miles away. That's true, Steve supposes, and she'll probably always be miles away; at least miles away from him.

* * *

George Tarleton's body shakes as he heads through the halls to the elevator. His jelly legs can barely support his weight, and he's sweating out of fear, giving his blue uniform dark stains in embarrassing places.

He must be in trouble, though he knows not why. Why would his boss call him to the main level in the middle of the day? Why would his boss interrupt his work schedule?

George has done everything right. He never talks about his work, not even to his friends and loved ones, and he has never uploaded any information or stolen anything. Every day he reports five minutes early and leaves only when his work is done.

So why is he being summoned?

 _Perhaps it has something to do with the Cosmic Cube,_ he thinks as he steps into the elevator. _Maybe they made a breakthrough. Maybe I'm not in trouble at all._

Or maybe the Avengers have finally come to claim the Cube again. The Cube has been on an adventure spanning years and dimensions and worlds. The Red Skull claimed possession of it in the forties, and started HYDRA by hiring scientists to utilize and experiment with it. Many discoveries were being made, but then Captain America had come and taken down the Red Skull, the Cube disappearing for a time until it became recovered. SHIELD had it for a while, though they hid it away instead of using it. Eventually Thor returned it to Asgard, but a secret contact returned it to AIM, where it is now.

George feels the fear draining away and an excitement filling him. Maybe he'll have the chance to see the Cube! To feel its power surging through the room, to see it glow brilliantly. How many other simple technitions like him have seen it?

He steps into the room he had been called to, and his mouth opens up un shock—surely he has been called for something special. Surely he is special.

Standing before him is the Scientist Supreme, and behind him is the Cube. There are guards filling the room, automatic weapons at hand, and other scientists in lab coats, but George has only eyes for the Cube. Even from the distance it fills him with a longing, and he feels almost drawn toward it.

"We called you here for a special purpose," the Scientist Supreme says. "We conducted a random draw, and you were selected. We need someone who can help us ultilize the Cube. We need a special, superhuman someone."

"Yes." The words are out of his mouth before he even thinks. But does he really care? George Tarleton had been a normal, run-of-the-mill agent, but now his boss, his infamous boss, is requesting to make him special.

And when he's special he'll be able to touch to Cube. To use the Cube. To channel power from the Cube. To study it.

It's calling him, and he's willing to answer the call.

"We can it 'Mobile Organism Designed Only for Computing'."

* * *

Fury himself meets them at the base, a scowl on his face and his eye patch looking as forbidding as usual. "I need you all to come with me right now," he says, his tone serious. Steve and Natasha share glances before motioning to the team to follow them.

Fury leads them to the briefing room, where hologram projects are up and running. He swipes information around, cursing under his breath. Finally he pulls up a report.

"All over the radar. Supernatural beings sighted in New Mexico, not far from where Thor and his hammer crashed down a few years ago." Nick turns to face them all, analyzing them. "You're to go down and investigate and eliminate or bring in the threat. This could be nothing, or this could be the beginning of a war. Either way, this is your first big scale mission."

"We'll take a quinjet right away," Steve affirms, and he turns to his team. "Time to suit up."

A few minutes later the team is loading onto the quinjet. Natasha and Rhodey pilot while Steve reads the reports aloud. Wanda is twisting a ring around the middle of her finger repeatedly, Sam is cleaning the engine pack of his Falcon suit (though it is already clean), and Vision is trying to figure out how his seat harness works (for once Steve isn't the most oblivious).

When they finally touch down in New Mexico, the team of six slips coats and sweats over their uniforms. Nothing will alarm people more than the Avengers walking through town in full uniform, weapons at the ready.

They split into teams of two to go to the diners and bars to get information the reports may have missed. Sam and Wanda go West, Rhodey and Vision go South, and Steve and Natasha go East.

They enter a diner with a homey feeling, checkered table clothes and light shining in through dusty windows. All the tables are lightly stained wood, and the customers all talk with each other.

And yet, there is a dark shadow cast about in the room, a tense feeling overshadowing everything. Steve and Natasha sit at the bar, and they single out a young man who is sitting alone.

"I've been hearing rumours," Natasha says sexily, leaning down next to the man.

He gulps, and responds with a stutter, "W-what kind of rumours?"

"I hear there's..." she pauses for dramatic effect "… _supernatural_ things going on. Am I right?"

The man nods, too fast. Steve almost wants to smile; the poor man has no idea what he's getting into. "There's been sightings. Ghosts, spirits, whatever you want to call them. And two young women went missing."

"Are you saying it's dangerous?" Natasha giggles, obviously deep in her act. To make things worse the guy falls for it.

Chill suddenly go up Steve's spine. Natasha is easily manipulating this poor, naive guy, just like she's manipulated so many others. Isn't this proof that she hasn't changed at all? Isn't this proof that she'll use her Red Room training for lying and tricking? And the fact that she is able to effortlessly switch from her "normal" self to a fake identity, one who preys on lonely guys cruelly and heartlessly? And isn't Steve a lonely man? He's her idea victim. What if he's already fallen prey to her? She did say she has him wrapped around her little finger.

And Steve has fallen for her. Of all people, he's attracted to her. Why did he have to crash the _Valkyrie_ in the ocean? Why couldn't he have just come home from the war to Peggy. Peggy is good, and pure. She doesn't manipulate people, and she doesn't put up new identities. She appreciated Steve for who he is, and she would have made him happy. He would never doubt her goodness, and together they could have made the world a better place.

Because, deep down, he's afraid of the darkness. He's afraid of the darkness in himself, and afraid that it will take over him. He's been feeling this way since Wanda's original vision. Since Peggy took his hand, and brought him home. But he was never home. Because when the cymbals crashed he ducked, and when the man spilled wine he thought it was a bullet wound. When the people dancing looked like they were brawling, and the lady's red lipstick looked like blood, and he flinched when he saw Peggy's face-those were the moments he discovered the darkness in him. He never came home from the war, he's always lived in it. And war is full of darkness and rage and evil. And, because he can't leave those things behind, they're in him now. It has taken time to build up, but each mission makes it worse, and finally Wanda's latest vision triggered it. He thought it would be harmless to see how things would have been, but now he realises that what she showed him was a lie-her original vision had been the truth, in all its ugliness and horrificness. There's too much darkness in him to ever go back.

The realisation hits him hard, and he clenches his fists in his lap, fighting to keep his face nuetral. He knows he can't do this anymore. He can't just keep picking himself back up and fighting on. He needs to get away from all of this, and he needs help. Seriously help. What if he begins to sucuumb to the darkness and make questionable decisions? He doesn't just represent himself, he represents all of America. If he can't keep a cool, clear head then he needs to go somewhere where he won't make a mess of things for others.

But then he hears the next thing Natasha's interrogate says, and he knows he has to at least finish this mission.

"Definitely." The man leans closer to her and lowers his voice. "The women that went missing are famous. You might have heard of them—one of them is Jane Foster, an astrophysicist. A genius, and rumour is that she's with one of the Avengers. Her friend, too, went missing. I think her name is Dora or something."

Natasha smiles innocently. "Really? Guess a woman has to be careful around here. Thanks for the warning, hottie."

"One more thing," the guys says quickly. Natasha raises an eyebrow, and he elaborates: "A few days ago another woman stopped in town, asked questions like you. Then she disappeared."

She sidles away, catching Steve's arm as she walks out. He follows, and as soon as they exit the restaurant her act falls away and worry actually crosses her beautiful features.

"This isn't just any supernatural being," Natasha says in a low voice. "If they kidnapped Jane and Darcy then this thing or person has a score to settle—with Thor. I'm guessing they're from Asgard or one of the other realms."

Not good. Steve has had his run-ins with Asgardian people and things, and he isn't eager to go another. Still, there's no one else to take care of it, and this is what he joined SHIELD to do in the first place. Besides, Thor is his friend, and if he wants to help himself then he can't just not help a friend. Abandoning a friend in a time of need will only encourage the darkness in him to grow.

"Let's meet up with the others and get this son of a bitch then," Steve replies. Natasha smirks at him from the corner of his eye and he sighs. "Don't say it."

"Language," she teases, and Steve exhales, shaking his head and smiling wryly. This is helping, this unashamed teasing. It's a little thing, but it's the little things that are helping to push back the darkness, he's noticing.

"I brought this upon myself, didn't I?" he asks.

"It's karma for the whole 'on your left thing'," Sam says, coming up behind him. Wanda is glancing about, seemingly looking for something. Obviously they heard the news already.

When Rhodey and Vision meet up with them, they all share their information. Rhodey mentions that the people have been saying the weather has been colder than usual, though he doesn't know what it means in relation to the other findings, and also that weird noises have been heard out in the desert.

"We better just go and figure this out," Sam suggest, and Steve has to agree. Nothing is adding up—supernatural beings like ghosts, the kidnapping of Jane and Darcy and the other girl, the weather becoming colder, and weird noises.

The team rents a car and heads out into the desert to investigate. They're in the middle of nowhere when they begin approaching and valley and Vision suddenly stops them.

"What is it?" Steve questions.

"I think we overlooked something," Vision says. Wanda tilts her head, and Steve assumes she's reading his mind because understanding dawns on her face.

"These are all the workings of a god of mischief," she tells them, and the pieces click into place.

"Loki," Rhodey says.

"The ghosts are hallucinations he's making," Sam realizes. "He knows Thor and Jane are together, and Darcy probably was pulled in because she's Jane's friend. But that doesn't explain the weird noises or the sudden cold."

"Loki's adopted," Natasha adds. "He's originally from Jotunheim."

"The Frost Giants, or the Etins," Steve continues. "If he brought an army of them down here..."

Everyone is silent for a moment, drinking it in. Suddenly they know what they're up against—and it isn't pretty.

"So we fight the Giants," Natasha orders. "We rescue Jane and Darcy and the woman, and we put a stop to Loki."

Steve parks the car. "I'm guessing he's hiding the army of Giants in the valley somewhere. We go on foot from here. Be ready for a fight."

Everyone exits and takes off their coats, revealing their uniforms. If this really is a Giant army then it's going to take everyone working together and in sync to end this war before it even starts.

"And remember, Giants are the equal of Asgardians. They'll be tough to beat."

The team walks towards the valley. After a few minutes Steve feels the temperatures start to drop, and he's reminded of his unpleasant time in the ice.

He hadn't died when the com to Peggy cut off. He'd died hours afterwords. The com had cut off because the plane had crashed and it had broke. He, however, was still buckled up in the pilot seat, buried in the middle of a glacier. Pain consumed him, and many of his bones were broken or sprained, and it took all of his willpower to unbuckle himself, slide off the chair, and move to the floor (at least the remnants of the floor). Then he'd lain there, thinking about every awful thing that had happened to him as he slowly froze to death, the ice creeping up his body ever so slowly. There had been no purpose to fighting it, as he and the plane were buried too far under to dig himself out, and surrendering had been the faster way to end the pain. As the end neared, he's remembered good memories, ones of Bucky and his mother and his early days with Peggy.

When he'd finally died it had been a relief, really. Then he woke up seventy years later and his hell began again. This time the bullies weren't so easily stood up to, and this time he needed the help of others.

Now he's a leader of people like him, genetic experiments or engineering breakthroughs or simply assassin training.

Wanda cocks her head next to him, listening to something he can't hear. Probably consciousnesses, just like when she reads minds. "About a mile that ways, I hear something. It's not human."

"Alright. Let's head that way. Wanda, you lead us." The telepath nods and begins to walk forward, stopping occasionally to listen and alter their position. The air is hot and the dust stings their skin as they head farther and farther into the desert, and Steve wishes he had better clothes.

After an hour's trek they find themselves looking down into a valley. The valley has scattered trees and a small pond, and sitting around it are a few dozen Giants. Even from the distance they are enormously tall and broad, and Steve knows they'll be a great challenge.

A much smaller figure in dark green sits off to the side, watching. Steve and Natasha trade glances; even though they can't see the figure's face, they know all too well the familiar smirk that is probably decorating his face.

"Do we attack now or nah?" Sam asks, adjusting his goggles on his forehead. Steve shakes his head.

"It gets colder at night, and the colder it is the more powerful they'll be. We'll attack in the day when they're weaker."

"Why did they stay in the desert if they are weaker?" Wanda inquires, pulling up her hair into a bun.

"Because they know it's the last place we'll look for them. Except it seems Loki has a reason for wanting us to know they're here, since he made such a big deal about the ghosts and spirits popping around." Steve shrugs. Loki is a psychopath, and no one knows what is inside their minds.

"He wants a show. He always likes an audience, too." Natasha follows Wanda's lead, also pulling up her hair.

"So we're the audience?" Rhodey circles the War Machine summoning bracelet around his wrist.

"No, we're going to be part of the show. The ghost reports were meant to bring us in, the Giants are meant to capture us, and then he's going to make a point to the world, though exactly what that is we don't know," Natasha explains.

"We're going straight into a trap?" Vision asks, a little bit of worry in his voice. Steve doesn't blame him.

"My guess is that Loki doesn't know you four or your powers very well," Steve replies. "In fact, he may not even realize you guys are the ones he brought in. He might think we're the original Avengers minus Thor."

"Which is stupid," Natasha adds. "He's laying a trap without knowing his enemy. He's underestimating us."

"For now, we have the high ground," Steve says. "Let's get some sleep, we'll set up some guard rotations. I'll take first watch. Romanoff, can I see you for a moment?"

They all move back from the cliff some, finding some cover behind a clump of sparse bushes. Steve sits guard while the others huddle in close against the coolness of the desert night.

Natasha comes up to Steve and they move out of earshot from the others. "What is it?" she asks.

"If we're going to battle the Giants tomorrow we should have some extra, tactical information," he says.

"You're not planning on going down there alone, are you?" Then she sees his face and she sighs. "God, Steve. You're an idiot."

"I have to," he persists, though deep down he knows she's right. Going in without backup and when the enemy is the strongest is the stupidest thing ever, but his gut tells him there's something down there he needs to know or retrieve. Something vital. "Besides, if I can free Jane and Darcy while I'm at it then we have a little less collateral damage to focus on during the real battle."

"I can't stop you, can I?" Deep down Natasha knows nothing she says or does will dissuade him. Once Steve gets his mind set on something he shuts out reason. Noble, yes, but stupid.

He shakes his head, a small motion. Natasha sighs again. "You're an idiot," she repeats, shaking her head. "Go. I'll keep your watch, and hopefully you'll be back by daylight. If not..."

Steve stands. "If I'm not back by daylight then you're in charge. I trust you to make the right decisions." No, not really. He doesn't trust her one bit. But who else can he ask such a big favour of? Besides, maybe this way she can earn back his trust. He turns to start heading off, but Natasha stands quickly and puts a hand on his shoulder. He faces her, and she leans up and kisses his cheek.

"Be safe," she orders.

"Yes, ma'am."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: The next chapter! Also, I posted a new one-shot for the Avengers last night, so feel free to check that out, too. Enjoy :)

Chapter 4

Steve quietly descends into the valley, his shield perched on his back, ready. The farther he goes the more he realizes how stupid he is and how right Natasha is, but the feeling in his gut keeps him from turning back. Besides, he needs to get away from her. The dark voice within him is weaker the farther he goes, and for the moment the relief from the internal battle inside him is enormous. He can't quite rid himself of an emptiness, though. There's a void in his heart that grows even as he walks. Is the only way to shut out the darkness also the way to lose his happiness? Which is worse?

The Giants loiter around the pool, and they're huge. They look similar to normal humans, their proportions very familiar with the exception of their height. Their eyes are a glowing red and their skin pale, and they stand between twenty and twenty five feet tall. Steve isn't used to being a small person, but next to them he is a young child. He begins to doubt that his team can defeat a force this large and powerful, until he remembers Wanda. And then he remembers they were supposed to talk, but it's too late now. He'll have to wait until he returns. _If_ he returns. At this point he's not sure if he's reached the point of no return, selfish as it is.

Loki is asleep on a throne—how melodramatic—and on the far side of the valley is a small shelter, big enough for three human beings. Steve assumes those are where the captives are being held, and he begins to head that way. His stealth training has paid off; he goes unnoticed as he sneaks toward the shelter. When he reaches it he slips inside, putting his shield in first so the women know it's him.

Jane and Darcy look a little frightened, though not at him. Their eyes are dark with bags, and he knows this whole experience has been traumatizing. The other woman, however, looks at him with stern eyes and an assertive expression.

"Hey, neighbour," he whispers, a small fletching of surprise surging up within him. What is she doing here? She left SHIELD for the CIA he thought, but apparently she deceived him along the line, too. The darkness comes in a wave. Everyone is betraying him now, and there's nothing he can do about it. He can't trust anyone, because all of them will let him down in the end. He's just so damn naive.

She nods in reply and motions with her head to their hands and feet, which are bound together. Steve pulls out a knife from his uniform and cuts Kate, or as she's better known, Sharon, free.

He begins to move to Jane and Darcy, but Sharon shakes her head. "They're not in any danger here," she says softly but insistently.

"I have a team that's attacking the Giants tomorrow at first light," Steve argues, keeping his voice down. He doesn't believe her one bit. Not after she posed as his neighbour, a nice nurse who works at the infectious disease ward. Not after they flirted. Not after she turned out to be lying to him and manipulating him the whole time. And why _should_ he trust her? "We have to get them out."

"No, you can't attack," she replies. "This whole trap is meant for Thor, to bring him down. Loki is going to reveal himself to the world, and when Heimdall sees he'll let down Thor. There's something bigger going on."

"How do you know all this?" Steve demands. "I though you went to work with the CIA." It's probably another deception. The super soldier is beginning to be filled with an unending rage. Why does he deserve to be surrounded by "friends" who just lie and use him? Why can't he find someone who is genuine and kind and won't act like someone else? Why does he have to watch his back like a hunted criminal?

"After SHIELD collapsed I had contacts that still were within SHIELD. They returned to me with orders, and I have been working undercover with the CIA. Then my boss sent me to investigate some odd occurrences going on, and I allowed myself to be captured to learn the truth from Loki. This whole ruse? It's only a distraction from something bigger, and right now this is the safest place for them to be."

Steve shakes his head. She may be right- _may_ -, but Jane and Darcy are civilians and thus are not prepared to deal with abduction. They're frightened, and if one thing goes wrong they can be hurt. And Steve won't let anyone on his watch get hurt, especially not Thor's girlfriend and friend.

"I can't allow them to stay," he tells Sharon, his resolve hardening.

"It's okay," Jane's small voice pipes up. "We can stay. I trust Thor will come and save us."

"And it's really not that bad," Darcy agreed. "Loki's actually kind of funny."

"He's a psychopath," Steve reminds her, wondering why anyone would think of Loki as "funny". Maybe Darcy is a secret agent, too. Maybe she's hiding her real self from him, just like everyone else seems to be. _Stop it_ , Steve chides himself. _You're becoming tired and paranoid._

Darcy shrugs. "So?"

Sharon turns back to Steve. "Let's go."

"Loki will notice if you've gone missing, and he's not bound to just sit around and wait. He might attack someone or something."

"That's why you're going to leave your team to fight him in the morning. They'll be a distraction, and they'll rescue the girls, and probably Thor will beam down and join them. The two of us need to go and investigate the other issue. The big one."

"I need more than that to just ditch my team. See, I like you, Sharon, and I respect you. But I don't know you, so I don't trust you. Too many of my friends have gone to HYDRA for me to trust anyone." Steve doesn't think she's HYDRA, and he honestly thinks she's a good person, but he can't trust her. Not yet. She may be related to Peggy but that doesn't mean anything in the long run. And she did lie and deceive him before, which is something he's not going to forgive so easily.

Sharon sighs. "Something big is going on at AIM. A big power struggle or something. A lot of their agents have been either deserting, rebelling, or becoming more aggressive, and there are rumours that they have the Cube, which I'm guessing Loki gave to them. We need to sneak in, to get information. If you leave your team then the reports in the spy world will say you've been captured or MIA, like me. Then AIM won't see us coming, and they won't be prepared. And your team can meet up with us in a few days. But we don't have much time, and if we're going we need to go now, before the Giants come and check on us."

Steve wants to hesitate, he wants to tell her things aren't alright, he can't just abandon his team, but her logic is sound. And if the world security is at risk—and it might be, AIM is a powerful branch off of HYDRA—he owes the world his work, not his team. Besides, he has two choices: either go with Sharon, who lied and deceived him, or go back to Natasha, who lied and manipulated him, and who brings out the dark side of him. He makes his decision.

"Fine. But I'm calling my team for backup as soon as I can. And we're going to stick together the whole time. No splitting up, no mission changes. Deal?"

She nods. "Deal. Now let's get out of here."

* * *

Natasha waits Steve's watch all night. She begins to grow tired, and though she knows she should get sleep she can't wake up anyone else. They might try and follow Steve, and that will be suicide.

He doesn't come back, and as dawn looms closer and closer she worries. Although she hasn't heard a disturbance in the valley, all it will take is one well-aimed smack from a Giant to knock Steve out, and if Loki is playing games, Steve will become the victim.

What worries her the worst is _why_ she's worried. Steve will be fine, he always is. She has never worried about him in the past. Not when they were partners on missions and were split up, not when they were fugitives from SHIELD with all of HYDRA after them, not when they were in Camp Lehigh and HYDRA sent missiles after them, not in the battle against Ultron when hundreds of robots were attacking them. So why is she worried now?

Natasha is the Black Widow, and her training in the Red Room taught her to never get close to others, to not make friends, and to not trust anyone, because everyone can turn into a liability later on. When Clint saved her and brought her back to SHIELD she learned to trust him, Fury, and Hill, and only those three. When Clint had been placed under mind control by Loki she had _worried_ to no end. That had been the first time she had felt that particular emotion. She knew he had a family, and she _worried_ that he would be forced to do awful things and then killed. Luckily she had been able to bring him back, and her _worry_ had been healed, but she always felt extra protective of him since. He'd dropped out of SHIELD at the request of his wife and the psychiatrists, and he'd stayed out at his family farm with his family. Natasha had been reassigned with Steve, and they made a great team, but whenever she had the opportunity she dropped by to check on him. All through the battle against Ultron while Scarlet Witch had been on the other side she _worried_ about Clint, since he'd already had his head messed with and had become compromised.

The next person she had _worried_ about had been Bruce. When the Avengers decided to join forces again and track down HYDRA bases she had learned a simple touch from her could calm the beast down, a Disney-like cure. However, being an Avenger is dangerous and whenever he had been in human form she _worried_. They had made a connection, both through the tender touches and through the similarities they had. When he had been compromised by Wanda and he had destroyed part of a city she felt awful for him, and _worried_. The way he had locked himself away from the others—it _worried_ her to see him that way. Then in the battle of the city when he refused to Hulk out—she _worried_ he'd be hurt and so she forced him to turn into the beast. And when he'd left her she had _worried_ about him again.

Now she is worried about Steve. And not just worried. She's hurt, in a way. Before it had just been worry, not this awful pain welling up inside of her. She feels like she's lost a part of her.

That's not too far off from the truth, though. Steve has been her partner, her other half, the one that always watches her back and protects her, and now he's gone. Now she's left in charge of a team of misfits who are about to engage in a all-out war against a few dozen Frost Giants in the middle of nowhere. Who's going to watch her back now?

 _I never used to need someone to watch my back_ , she thinks to herself. And it's true; she trained to work alone, to be the ultimate spy and assassin. Then, somewhere along the way, she'd become dependent on someone to watch her back. Clint. Steve.

It still doesn't change that she's hurting, and if Steve isn't down in that valley when they take on the Giants then she has no idea where he is. He can be dying in a hole and she won't be there with him.

 _Stop it_ , she tells herself. _It will all be alright, you're over exaggerating._

She wishes she is, but she's been in a similar situation. She's had partners before that she let scout ahead, and the next time she saw them they were in pieces or lying in a pool of their own blood.

 _But those men weren't Steve,_ she reminds herself. No man is like Steve. No man is as good, or as righteous, or as strong and powerful as Steve. No man can survive being frozen in ice for decades, but Steve did. No man can survive a run-in with the Red Skull but Steve did. No man can take on HYDRA with two allies, neither of which have any special superpowers.

No man can save the Black Widow from herself, but Steve has. Everyday he's helping her find her footing in ways even Clint couldn't. She's a better person by just being around him. Everyone is, to be truthful. Steve brings out the best in others, even in people like her who don't have very much good to begin with.

Not only that, but Steve is the glue that holds their team together. What will happen if he's gone? Can Natasha hold them together? Can she be the leader they need?

Even more than that, though, she worries about Steve's wellbeing. Natasha learned from a young age how to read people, and is hasn't brushed passed her attention that he's fighting himself. She sees the way he winces and rubs his temples, the way he doesn't look her in the eye, and the way he avoids her. She knows those are all the symptoms of someone fighting internally. And more than that, she thinks she knows what he's fighting: himself. He's fighting to stay a good man, but she's worried he won't win. She's watched him closely enough lately to see that his foundations are slowly falling into the sea. She knows that although Wanda was trying to help him move past Peggy the vision just made him worse.

And she sees the darkness in Steve's eyes growing day after day. The question: is her presence or her absence making it worse for him?

Natasha is terrified of the answer.

* * *

When the light of the sun starts touching the ground Natasha moves to wake the others up. They get up, snack on some candy bars that are left over, and suit up. None of them seem to realize someone is missing.

"Let's go." Natasha walks as she explains the battle strategy and reminds them of the information on the Frost Giants. Then Sam suddenly stops, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Where's Cap?" he asks. The others nod; it seems as though they did realize Steve had been gone, they just didn't bring it up. Of course they wouldn't; they probably had assumed he'd be back in time for the battle.

"He went to scout ahead earlier. He hasn't returned." Natasha continues walking, though she knows none of them are following. Then she sighs and turns back to them. "Listen, he said to keep going, to fight them if he didn't return. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but we need to fight. I'm the leader now, and we're going to kill these bastards. Okay?"

"Is this wise?" Vision questions. Natasha knows she'll have to assert authority or else they won't follow her, so she strides up to him and gets right in his face, and even though he has a good three inches on her (at least) she scares the hell out of him.

"Listen to me, agent," she hisses. "I've taken on equal threats on my own, and I've trained more years than any of you or even Steve himself. If you doubt for one moment that I can't lead you or that I'm not doing what is right then you can leave because Steve left me in charge with his orders and I'm going to do my damn best to follow them." She raises her voice. "That goes for all of you!"

As she steps back she sees the fear of God in Vision's eyes and he nods his head. "Of course, of course I trust you."

"Anyone else have any objections?" she asks. Everyone shakes their heads. "Good. If we're going to fight like a team then you all have to act like a team, and that means following the Captain's orders. In this case, this battle, I am the captain, and you follow me." She lets the edge off of her voice. "You all are my friends, and it has been an honour to train with you, and I don't want any of you to die. That's why we have to work together, alright? Things will be harder without Steve, but we can do this."

"Ready to follow orders, ma'am," Rhodey says. The others chime in, even Wanda nodding.

"Good. Then let's go kick some Giant ass." She continues walking toward the valley edge, the others now following her.

"We attacking under radar?" Sam asks.

"Nope. Sam, give me a lift. Rhodey, take Wanda. Let's just give it a go." Sam and Rhodey pick up the girls and Vision flies himself down. They land hard, Wanda throwing out her hands to push back all immediate threats from the group and the others drawing out their weapons.

A loud laugh causes Natasha to whip her head to the right. Loki is lounging on a throne by the side of the valley, his whole green and gold reindeer getup on (is it her imagination or does his horns on his helmet just keep getting longer and longer?). The scepter sits across his lap, though instead of the blue orb it now has an orange gem in it. Probably another Infinity Stone, but Natasha doesn't have the time to think it over.

"Welcome, welcome," Loki says amiably. "I've been waiting for you. Where's your Captain, though? Did he fall and hurt himself?" He laughs again, as if he's the most hilarious guy ever.

But part of Natasha is relieved. If he doesn't know where Steve is then it means Loki and the Giants don't have him. Something else happened to him, and it could be better or worse. Natasha hopes it's better, though she doesn't have much time to dwell on it.

"The prisoners are over there," Wanda says, pointing. Natasha sees the two brunettes tied under a make-shift shelter.

"Sam, you're to get the prisoners out and away from here. I'll go for Loki, and the rest of you hold the Giants off."

Nobody questions her orders or hesitates; they work in sync, Rhodey flipping the visor over his face and raising his arm, allowing the guns and missile launchers to flip up and ready. Sam pops his goggles into place and spreads his wings, one hand switching the safety off his machine gun.

"You can try, but you won't beat them. They're the best of the best, my finest warriors." Loki readjusts his seating. "But it will still be a great show, so go ahead. I'd like to see you try."

Natasha trades glances with Wanda. "You're more powerful than they are," she reminds the girl. "You took down a vibranium robot with all the intelligence of the world, you can kill these guys. They're physically like Thor, but you're stronger."

Wanda nods, her gaze steeling itself as she turns away from the spy and starts running towards the Giants. She dodges a breath of icy air and throws her red power hexes toward them, pushing them away.

Vision starts floating towards the Giants, high enough that he's over their heads. The gem on his forehead glows as he fires beams towards the Giants.

Natasha starts running towards Loki. He snaps his fingers and two Giants instantly run between him and the spy. She takes them in, all twenty feet of each of them, and snaps on her widow's bites.

"You can surrender now," Loki calls from behind them, though he doesn't sound like he's serious. He wants a show, just like he always.

"Not a chance," she hisses, and she sprints towards the first Giant. She draws two knives from her catsuit and raises them, jumping straight onto the Giant. The knives dig into his leg, and she uses them like spikes to climb up onto his shoulders. He shakes himself, trying to throw her off, but she holds on tight. Then he starts clawing for her. Natasha starts using her acrobatics training to evade his fat fingers and finally she gets in a position to swing herself up into the air and onto his shoulders. He thrashes hard, but she grabs his long, stringy hair and pulls hard on it, hard enough to draw his head on the side and start stumbling sideways. As soon as his balance is offset she jumps onto his face and jabs her widow's bites into his eyes. He screams out in pain as he's electrocuted, his eyeballs exploding all over her in a nasty liquid form.

She jumps off his corpse onto the ground, spitting out the liquid eyeball. The other Giant looks at her apprehensively, though not with fear. He raises a large spear and rams it towards her. She ducks and rolls out of the way, barely missing it. She stops in a crouch, but he's already swinging his fist at her, so she flattens herself on the ground and covers her head with her arms. The moment his fist passes harmlessly over her pops up and sets herself in a fighting stance.

This giant isn't going to go out as easily as the other one. What she really needs is one of Clint's explosive arrows to go off in his thick skull, or even a simple grappling hook to help her climb up to his face.

She runs forward, but he turns, lightning fast, and backhands her. She goes flying across the valley, hitting one of the stakes in the shelter. It collapses on Jane and Darcy, and she hears muffled shouts. She herself is hurt, huge splinters in her back and shoulders, one of her ankles twisted unnaturally.

 _Dammit_ , she thinks. _Where's Sam?_

Just then she sees a Giant swatting at a flying form that is definitely not War Machine. There are just too many of these guys, and not enough Avengers. Why did Steve have to leave them?

The Giant that had smacked her comes bumbling up, a triumphant smile on his face as he lifts his arm with his spear back. It's aimed right for her. He throws his arm down, and she rolls to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit. He stomps the ground hard, and the ground shakes. She is thrown up in the air a few feet by the shake, and her back explodes in pain when she hits the ground again.

The Giant leans down, frost coming out of his nostrils. He opens his mouth to breathe on her when suddenly the sky erupts into lightning, dark clouds instantly covering up the sun.

There's a loud thud heard across the valley and a crack, and a caped figure touches down in a kneeling position, a hammer in hand. The dust clears and he looks up, danger in his clear blue eyes. He stands, and his fair hair is blown back by the breeze.

"Give it up, brother," he says in his low, deep voice.

"Why?" Loki taunts. "It's just getting fun."

"You should know better than to anger me." Thor begins moving forward, towards the shelter where Jane and Darcy are still struggling under. The Giant about to attack Natasha turns to face the new threat, a smug smile on his face.

"I will be rewarded richly for defeating you," the Giant rumbles, picking up his spear.

"What are you waiting for?" Thor challenges, raising his hammer. Lightning comes down from the heavens and hits his hammer, then shoots out towards the Giant. The lightning shatters his spear, sending the remnants everywhere. Natasha covers up to avoid being hit by the shards, and when she unrolls the Giant is a smoking mess on the sand.

The rest of the Giants turn to face the new threat, and Rhodey flies in, machine guns blazing and missiles smoking towards them. Wanda runs to the demigod's side, hands out and shooting her wisps of red, pushing the Giants back. Sam, finally free from his opposition, lands next to the shelter and pulls the thing off of the women. Natasha tosses him a small knife and he cuts their bonds. He puts an arm around each to fly them off, but not before shooting Natasha a worried look.

"Will you be okay?" he asks. Natasha shakes her head and motions violently to go. He takes off, flying Jane and Darcy off to safety. Natasha clenches her teeth and reaches to pull out the splinters in the her shoulders. It hurts at first, but then fades to an ache. She can't reach the ones in her back, but she'll have to live without. She stands up on her bad ankle shakily, then decides it's only sprained and sets off at a limping jog to Loki.

In the center of the circle of Giants Thor is blasting and hitting them, keeping them occupied with Mjölnir. Wanda is covering his back, and she's faring pretty well. Vision and Rhodey attack from the sky, and between the four superheroes they're being distracted pretty well.

Natasha makes it to Loki, and she stands in front of his throne, drawing out a knife threateningly. "Where's the party you were talking about?"

Loki smiles, though in a way that shows he's disgusted by her. "So how's the process of getting all that red out of your ledger?" he asks. She lunges forward, a cry a anger on her lips, and right when she should made contact with his body he disappears, and she falls onto the throne hard, her knife scraping against the metal.

She immediately whirls around, and he's standing where she had been a second ago, his annoying smile still on his face. "Miss me? My, my, you're getting sloppy."

A growl escapes from her throat. She crouches on the throne and then uses it as a springboard to help her momentum as she jumps. He disappears mid-jump, but she twists her arm with the knife to the side, and it makes contact. As she lands she pulls the knife out. Loki stares in surprise at the growing red circle on his side.

"Not this time." She stands, pushing the knife up at his throat. "Call off your Giants."

Loki still smiles, though this time weakly. "What's the point in that? My brother is already about to finish them off."

Natasha lets the snide comment slide. "What did you want our attention for? Why did you do this?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" He beams like a child at Christmas. "You see, there's two reasons. One, I am the god of mischief, and there's been a lot of mischief going on at Earth lately, especially having to deal with all these lovely little secret corporations. HYDRA, SHIELD, AIM—they're all in chaos right now. The other reason is one you probably don't care too much for, but Asgard is getting a little surprise right now." He tilts his head. "And guess who isn't there to help defend the realms? My dear brother."

"You're lucky he cares for you so much, otherwise you'd be dead." Natasha presses the knife closer, but she and Loki both know she won't be able to actually use it again.

"Well, before this morning I was dead." Loki laughed. "Guess I made my entrance quite dramatically, though, don't you think?"

Natasha narrows her eyes. She's about to reply when she suddenly remembers something. "Where's the spear? And who did you get it from? And what gem is in it now?"

"Again, I'm so glad you asked." Under her arms he flicks his wrist and she barely moves to avoid getting speared through the heart. It still hits her though, colliding with her shoulder. She cries out in pain, dropping her knife and falling to the ground.

There's an explosion in the valley, some shouts, and suddenly Thor is grabbing Loki. Not in a restraining way, though. He's hugging him. Natasha wants to puke. How the guy can still love his brother after everything he's done—it's a type of love Natasha doesn't ever want to have.

"I'm glad you are not dead," Thor says. "But why did you not tell me?" He pulls away, holding Loki by the shoulders.

"Because if I told you you would have dragged me back to the Asgardian prisons. Please, brother, I'm not stupid. Not like you." Loki grins suddenly. "You really should have finished off that last Giant."

A scream cuts across the valley, definitely feminine. Wanda. Natasha staggers to her feet, pain spiking everywhere. She stumbles toward the sound, barely staying conscious, her vision spotted. She's losing blood too fast, but she knows Steve would have never left his troops alone, so she has to do the same. Natasha has to put past her own pain to help the others.

When she sees the sight she almost lets herself fall. War Machine is completely frozen, at least the suit is, Vision is crumpled at the bottom of a tree, barely moving, and the last Giant is clutching Wanda is his fist, slowly crushing her despite her red tendrils of power leaking everywhere.

Natasha finds hidden energy within her and she runs forward, yelling pain. She hears Thor yell, "Here!" and an object flies her way. A weapon. Natasha grabs it and slams it into the Giant as hard as she can. He yells and stumbles, and as he falls she hits him repeatedly with it. Finally she drops it, right on him, and only after seeing Wanda crawl out of his lifeless fist does she allow herself to collapse on the ground. Seconds later she's consumed by darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Hey! So I recently watched Ant-Man and loved it, so if you liked it, too, I would suggest you check out the two one-shots I wrote for it. You might like them :) This chapter is mostly in Wanda's POV, though near the end we meet the antagonist of this story (technically we already met him, but consider this the extended meeting), and near the middle we get some smaller sections of Steve's POV and Natasha's POV. Also, I'm going to band camp next week, and I don't know if I'll be able to update, so you might have to wait two weeks for chapter 6. Sorry! :(

Chapter 5

He's there, standing in front of her. His black hair is looking like a sinister Christmas tree, his black suit and pants neat and pressed, his green and white scarf long and hanging down to his waist. His green eyes are almost glowing in the darkness. And his mouth...it's curled up in that cruel, sneering smile.

"What do you want?" Wanda asks, her lip curling up in disgust. Why is here? He already hurt her, already allowed her skin to get freeze-dried by his frost giants, her bones crushed by their unrestrained strength. Only her powers kept her alive against such a force.

"You and I," Loki says, walking closer, "are not that different. We're actually very similar."

Rage wells up in her. How dare he accuse her of such a sin? She narrows her eyes and glares at him. "We are nothing alike," she hisses, her voice icier than his Giants' breath, her eyes colder than his frozen, Jotun soul.

Loki seems unfazed. "Oh, but aren't we?" his smile grows, and his voice lowers. "I can read you just as clearly as you can read me. I know that your mourn your brother, yet not all of you is filled with grief over his departure." Her jaw sets, and he continues talking. "Part of you is _relieved._ "

Wanda throws out a blast with her hands, sending him flying backward. He lands in a crouch, and when he snaps his head up he's still smiling, smile lines stretching out from his vibrant green eyes. She hates him so much, hates him with a passion she didn't know she is capable of. She may even hate him more than Stark, and that's saying something. How can he say such things to her, tell her that she is relieved of her brother's death? She loves her brother more than anything, and without him her life has been meaningless. And he dares to stand here and accuse her of such horrid things?

But more than that, she hates him because he's drawing out the ugly truth from her. Because he's right.

"Your brother meant everything to you," Loki continues, standing and brushing off his impeccable suit. "You love him so, so dearly. But he protected you too much. He held you back. You are capable of so much power, and all he did was hold you back. He tried to protect you from a world that you don't need protection from. And now that he's gone, you're free. And you craved that freedom so much that you're relieved."

"Says the one who thinks freedom is life's greatest lie. But it takes one to know one, doesn't it?" she replies, her voice quiet and deadly. "You're the same way. Deep down you love your brother so much, but you were always so jealous of him, of what he would inherit and what you would lose. And you couldn't accept that. You tried to gain your independence by killing him, but you couldn't. Because you love him so much, and your glad he's not dead. But you still craved the freedom, so you 'killed' yourself to gain it, only to lose it in the hands of the Chitauri leaders."

"You're right," Loki agrees. "Completely right. Love is not something you play with. Sometimes you don't even realise what a person means to you until they're gone. But you also don't realise how much your love for them blinds your need for independence."

Wanda tilts her head, reading his mind. "You don't want world dominance for yourself, you want Thor's _attention_. He's not even your brother."

Loki's face falls for a fraction of a second before he recovers. She sees anger in his eyes, and anger in his tone. "Unfortunately, he is. And I love him so. I hate that I love him, but I do." He turns back to his normal tone. "You've figured me out, Wanda Maximoff. I take the anger I have at loving my brother and channel it into other exertions, such as world domination. After living in the limelight of my brother's glory all my life I finally want the attention. I want my own glory, and sometimes it takes dramatic measures." Loki flashes a grin at her. "You know what my father once told me? 'You are both born to be rulers'. I didn't understand it at the time, but it was so true. I was born to rule, but only one of us brothers could take the throne and be the hero. The other had to be the villain. Our lots were cast, and I was given the short end. But it's so glorious!"

Wanda understands his reference immediately. She had been raised Jewish, so she'd been told stories from the Bible, and here he is talking about Cain and Abel. "Not all siblings have to be good and evil, light and dark. Pietro and I were both villains, and then we were both heroes. It doesn't have to be one against the other. You can be a hero, too. Thor will have you still."

Loki laughs, a short staccato burst. "You misunderstand the ways of this world, Wanda. You misunderstand yourself. You and Pietro are opposites in everything. See, it's not about the journey, it's about the end. Pietro died a hero! It was glorious, and he will always be remembered for it. But your journey has not ended, and it's only going down. You're turning into a villain whether you realise it or not. I was once young and naive like you, fighting battles on the side of good, learning from good teachers and mentors. But slowly you let the darkness creep in, and slowly it consumes you. By the time you notice it it's too late. By mourning your brother and refusing to let others in you live your life in a shadow, and it's taking over you. One day you'll understand, and you'll be fighting with me. All siblings are doomed to fall into the same pattern."

"No," she shakes her head. "It's not possible. Life doesn't work like that. Your fate is not up to destiny, it's about what you make, what you do."

"You've read the archer's mind, haven't you? Barton. He had a brother once. You know what happened to his brother?" Wanda shutters, remembrance coming to mind, and Loki takes advantage of her unstableness to forge on. "Clint betrayed him, fought him. They were on opposite sides, and only one of them emerged. And what about your captain and his friend? Barnes, I think his name is. ?They are brothers in all but blood, much like Thor and I, and look what's happening to them. As Barnes slowly finds himself and turns good, Steve is slowly turning dark. Look around you, Wanda! It's inevitable!"

Wanda covers her ears with her hands, trying to shut him out, trying to shut out the voices whispering in her head. Everything the god is saying makes sense, so why is she trying to fight it?

 _Because it is the darkness speaking,_ she reminds herself. The darkness cannot win, cannot take over her. She is not a villain, nor will she ever be. She will fight this evil until it consumes her if she has to, and she will die fighting it, but she will not accept it. Loki doesn't help, especially as he comes close and says quietly, "It's fate, Wanda. And fate is against you."

"I will stop it," she hisses, uncovering her ears and looking straight at him. "I am stronger than fate. I am stronger than anything else in this world. That's what my brother taught me. He didn't take away my independence, he taught me to be stronger than my binding destiny. You gave into fate, accepted it, and that's why you turned dark. Try and fight it for once, and see where it takes you." She pauses before adding, "And try listening to your brother."

* * *

Wanda wakes up in pain, a sore, pulsing pain. Her head aches in a way it has never before, and her back feels like it has been stretched by taffy. She remembers the conversation and tries to bolt up, to find that bastard and to end him, but the pain comes sharply and she falls back into the embrace of the pillows. It had just been a dream, a very bad dream.

"Easy," a voice says. She looks up with bleary eyes to see a large, muscular man who is vaguely familiar. She pulls herself up into a sitting position (slowly and painfully) and recognition dawns on her face.

"The thunder god," she says, thinking of Loki and what he said about his brother. The man answers very seriously, "I want to thank you for fighting next to me, and helping me."

She nods, though she doesn't really care. She fought because she had to fight. She had fought because it is her job. Wanda closes her eyes for a second, reaching out with her mind. She opens her eyes and blinks, clearing her vision and her min. She's in a hospital, most likely SHIELD, and her bed is surrounded by curtains. "How are the others?" she inquires.

"Recovering, much like you. They are not yet awake, except for Sam. He tells me Steven went missing yesterday." Thor's voice sounds worried. "He is not the kind of man to abandon his team. I have fought beside him, and he is a worthy man. I am honoured to call him my brother in arms."

"If anyone knows it is Natasha." Wanda replies. "They are close." She closes her eyes, the lights only aiding her headache. "When you returned to Asgard did you manage to remedy your vision?" She's referring to the vision she showed him back during the battle of Ultron, the one of Heimdall in Hel and the others all blaming him for it.

"Not yet, though I believe Loki is a part of it." Thor sighs. "He is my brother, and I love him, but he does not understand, and he does not listen. He is capable of much evil, and I fear for him."

"He loves you," Wanda assures him. Thor looks up, surprised, as if he didn't know that. "I could read his mind. He may say and act like he doesn't like you, but deep down he does. He remembers his childhood fondly, and the death of his mother has affected him. He is capable of much evil, yes, but also of much good. I believe he will become one of us one day. He just needs to discover who he really is for himself."

Thor smiles a little, though it looks bittersweet. "I have tried to guide him, but you are right. He has to find his own path in life, much like the rest of us. At least he has the opportunity."

He looks down, and Wanda feels a longing fill her. What he isn't saying is that Loki still has a chance to be good, unlike her brother. Pietro died a hero, but he never had a chance to discover himself. Barton had been right in saying they were just kids; the two of them were orphans with a lot of misplaced rage, and the potential they could have had is limitless.

Now Wanda is left alone, all alone without her brother. Now she has no one to push her like he used to, no one to comfort her, and no one to love her.

"Natasha saved me, didn't she?" Wanda asks. She glances at her bare arms and sees they are covered in bruises, and she bets anything the rest of her body looks like it. The Giant had almost crushed her to death, and he would have, if not for their captain.

Thor nods solemnly. "She is the most interesting person I have met in all the nine realms. She started out in a dark place, then rose up the ranks to become a hero, one good enough to fight by my side. I took a chance yesterday by tossing her Mjölnir, and my hunch had been correct; she is worthy enough to wield my hammer. The only others ones who have that kind of power is Vision, and Steven."

Wanda nods. "She doesn't believe she can be saved, though, and she hates herself. I see it in her mind all the time. I feel it radiating from everything she does."

"Maybe this will help her," Thor agrees. "When she recovers, of course."

The curtains around her bed shutters and a head pokes in. Sam smiles warmly at the duo. "Hey. Brought some pizza for you guys." He comes in, bearing a box. "Had to sneak it in, so don't tell the doctors." Thor slaps him on the back heartily and takes a few slices. Wanda picks up one, though she isn't very hungry, not that she eats very much even when she is. Sam also takes a slice and he gets comfortable on the edge of her bed.

"So Rhodey is thawing out. Doctor's say there isn't any frostbite, so that's good. Natasha is getting some blood transfusions, and with some sleep she'll be okay. Vision is healing nicely, he just got knocked around a lot. Jane and Darcy are fine, no signs of shock. Though, they have seen quite a bit of odd occurrences already, so they'll be pretty much the same. No word on Loki's or Steve's whereabouts." Sam sighs. "Man, I just wish I knew where he was."

"We will find him, friend," Thor assures the soldier. "It will just take time. Steven is able to care for himself until then."

* * *

Sharon buckled her seat belt in record time, shoving the keys into the ignition. "Better buckle up, Cap," she suggests, though it is more like an order. Steve follows it, tossing his shield in the back. Sharon slams her foot down on the accelerator and the car goes flying onto the highway.

"Where are we going?" he asks. She keeps her eyes on the road as she replies, "To a safe house. We're going to get supplies and I'm going to clean up. Unlike you, I've been in the captivity of Giants from Jotunheim for the last few days."

Steve nods. His whole body feels tense, and he feels so much guilt. He and Sharon had hiked out of the valley and for miles to the town, where she had left her car. All night they had walked, and while he can keep going on no sleep, Sharon is still human. And that's not even to mention he feels guilty for leaving his team. What if leaving just makes the darkness in his mind grow? Maybe he made a wrong decision.

Whatever the case, he has to stick with her. It's late to go back.

"Is there any way of checking the status of reports from SHIELD?" he questions. Agent 13 sighs.

"Rogers, you need to let it go. Your team is the best out there, and if they can't beat a few Giants then the world is screwed, because a few Giants is nothing compared to what is going on at AIM."

"What exactly is going on at AIM?" he shoots back. Sharon narrows her eyes and speeds the car up, her lips in a tight line.

"I'm not exactly sure, but it is bad enough that there were terrified agents. I mean, professional, soulless agents like Barton and Romanoff practically wetting their pants in fear. None of the ones that I interrogated wanted to talk about it."

"Barton and Romanoff aren't soulless," Steve defends, though he doesn't know why. Hadn't he just been griping to himself about how manipulative Black Widow is? Hadn't he just been convincing himself that Black Widow used him without remorse, just like she used Stark and Banner and countless other men in the past? So why is he defending her now?

"Everyone in the spy business is." She says it matter-of-fact, as if she has experienced it firsthand. "Except Aunt Peggy, of course."

Steve's head whips up. "What?" He knows Sharon is related to Peggy, he's known that since he read Agent 13's file, but it never occurred to him that she might of known her before the sickness settled in.

"She started with the SSR, and they treated her like crap. She saved the world, and the men there took the credit. Everybody treated her badly, making up a fantasy and sticking her in as a worthless whore or the damsel in distress, no good at anything than at taking lunch orders or answering the phone. They would play these radio things, and they always portrayed her as the weak, lonely woman that you were obligated to save. It was sickening. She remained friends with Howard, though, and she and his butler, Jarvis, were good friends."

Steve's jaw set in anger. "You're saying that everyone at the SSR treated her like sexist pigs? She's the strongest person I know, even stronger than myself."

Sharon nods. "You were a jewel in a case of crap. There was one man, though. He always defended her, though he couldn't always help her. He had a crutch since his leg had been permanently damaged in the war. He treated her with the respect she deserves, and she ended up marrying him. She lived a happy life, Steve. A really happy one." Sharon looks over at him and takes a hand off the steering wheel to place it on his arm. "No one ever forgot about you. They always prayed, every day and every night. I remember visiting her, and even years later she still had hope you would return. But she let you go, and she moved on."

Steve swallows, and looks out the window at the trees and grass and road passing by in a blur. "For some reason I can't do that," he says. "I've tried, but I can't."

"Maybe you need someone to help you," she suggests. "You need to take a step forward and let yourself live again. If you keep trying to live in the past you'll never move on to the future."

"If I can't let go of Peggy then how can I pretend to love someone else?" he asks. "That will be cruel and unfair to them. I can't do that." He appreciates her advice, but it won't work. He can't act like he loves someone else when Peggy will always have a part of his heart.

"It's not about forgetting her," Sharon explains. "It's about opening your heart up. They say your first love always remains in your heart, but you can still share your heart with others, Steve. Love is about sharing, not about dedicating it to one person and one person only. How else could you have friends?"

She's right, and Steve knows it deep down. So why can't he just start sharing his heart with others? And even if he can, who will he share it with?

A name pops up in his mind, and with is an image. He pushes the thought away; it will never work. Not her. He already gave her a chance, and it didn't work out. He needs someone new, someone different. And it will never work out, because she's lying and manipulative, and she's too harsh and too cold. He can't trust her with little things, let alone the big things, and what if she's just using him?

The darkness is creeping up again, and he struggles to surpress it. This is of no use, this desperate war against his heart. He can never have her, and surely he doesn't really want her.

"You sure there's no one?" Sharon looks over at him, removing her hand. "It's alright, you can tell me."

Steve shrugs. He's tired, and his body aches. Hunger claws at him, and the last thing he wants to do is discuss his feelings. He is beginning to trust her, and he's convinced her intentions are good, but now is not the time to have a heart to heart. Maybe some other time, but not now. Not when the last battle has still left scars in his mind and an aching heart.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep," he tells her. "Wake me up when we arrive at the safe house." He leans back in the seat and faces his head away from her, looking out the window and trying to forget everything.

* * *

Natasha opens her eyes, disoriented and in pain. Her mind is playing tricks on her, and she had the worst nightmares. She dreamed that Steve left her and didn't come back, and that she and the team fought against Giants and that Thor came down and helped them. Ridiculous, right?

Then Thor himself came striding into the room and it all came crashing down on her that it hadn't been a dream. All that awful stuff had actually happened, and her ankle is twisted and her shoulder has a giant hole (no pun intended) that's bleeding out, not to mention the scratches from the splinters in her shoulder and back. Her head also hurts, and she has scattered bruises everywhere.

"Sleep well?" he asks, and she scrunches up her face, even though she knows he's being genuine.

"Is Steve back?" she questions, and after she says it she is shocked. She doesn't remember thinking about saying that.

"No, he is still missing." Thor comes to stand by the head of her bed. "Wanda says you may know some details the others do not. You saw Steven last and you talked to Loki."

Natasha nods. "Get me some water. Then I'll tell you everything I know." He disappears, and she breathes deeply. Although her body hurts, it is nothing compared to the emotional hurt. Steve never came back. She and the team had been in danger, and he had abandoned them. That betrayal hurts her more than anything.

She wants him here, she wants to talk to him. To ask him what to do next. She wants to hear him make his smart-ass jokes and to take charge. She needs him to comfort the others, because God knows she can't assure them things will be alright. She can't give out inspirational speeches. She can't die and walk it off like he does. She can't bury her emotional pain deep down like him. That's the difference between her and Steve - he buries his pain deep down while she simply covers it with a mask. Neither are good ways, as the pain always wells up again eventually.

How come everyone she gets close to leaves? First it had been Clint. She and him were partners, lovers, friends. Then he married Laura, and after the Battle of New York he left SHIELD and left her. Next it had been Bruce. She had revealed to him her darkest moments, her greatest fears, she had let him see her weaknesses, and then he had ignored her and left. Now Steve. She trusts him, more so than either Clint or Banner, and now he just up and leaves, too.

She should know this already, though. She should know that she can never get close to people. She is the Black Widow, and those she gets close to get hurt. They're a liability, and they eventually learn to hate her. To despise her. Lately she's been letting her emotions and her feelings get to her, and now she's hurting.

Though maybe she deserves it. During the SHIELD fallout she had flirted with Steve, became his friend, grew close to him. She treated him like he had been special. And he is, he is special in ways she can never admit nor show. She helped him, and she owes him a debt. He saw her as someone worth saving, and he did. He saved her several times. She teased him, continued to flirt with him, even kissed him, and yet in the end she left him. The next time they saw each other had been when the Avengers began to assemble again to take down and search HYDRA bases, and while they had still talked and teased each other it just wasn't the same. There had been something missing. She moved on, found someone who needed her and who wanted her. Banner. She grew close to him, and in return farther from Steve. She gave Banner the same treatment she had given Steve—flirting, teasing, and even kissing him. She told him her deepest secrets.

She always knew there had been something missing with her and Banner's relationship. A spark. Chemistry, you might call it. It had never been there, and while her head said she loved him, her heart wasn't in it. Where her heart lies, she knows not, but she suspects it has something to do with Steve.

And she let him go. He left her. How had she not seen the cold wall that her relationship with Banner had erected between them? The warmth, the fuzzy, new feeling she felt with Steve has disappeared, and it is all because of her. Now that she thinks back on it, he has even given her chances to start something again, and yet she has let them all slide. She let them all pass by. She lost her opportunity at something good.

Natasha hates herself for this. She always manages to do this, to ruin her own life for herself, to pass by good things and instead make the wrong choices. No matter what she does she ends up in the same, deep rut. No matter what choices she makes, it seems she will always end up here. Always end up heartbroken and full of regret. She doesn't like this feeling, this raw, exposed feeling of hurt and pain and regret.

Thor returns with a water bottle and some candy bars (and some poptarts, but she suspects those are for him). She eats and drinks, and slowly the team filters in around her, all wrapped up in various bandages and casts or covered in ice packs and bruises. If only Steve had been there things wouldn't have spiraled out of control and ended up so badly.

Wanda looks like crap, covered in purple and black and green, her eyes red and swollen. Luckily Natasha had saved her when she had, otherwise Wanda might be in even worse condition. Rhodey looks cold, and he's wrapped in several blankets. Some cuts line his face, and his walks stiffly, but otherwise he looks okay. Vision has some cuts and scrapes, but he's also in pretty good condition. Sam is in the best condition, one cut on his forehead and a bright pink band aid on his arm, but otherwise he looks like he hadn't just battled twenty-foot Giants.

Thor stands, firm like usual, his muscular arms crossed over his chest, his hair looking fabulous like normal. He has a stern expression, though Natasha knows that underneath he really is just a teddy bear who happens to wield a mean hammer.

"Congratulations," Thor says, his deep voice carrying across the small curtained-off area.

"For what? Landing myself in the hospital and hooked up to machines?" Natasha asks wryly, though she knows she shouldn't be so harsh.

"No. You were worthy enough to wield Mjölnir." Natasha looks surprised, so Thor reiterates. "The weapon you defeated the last Giant with was Mjölnir."

"You mean to say," Natasha says in her dangerous voice, "that you threw me a hammer that might have hurt me instead of helped me?"

Thor shrugs. "But it didn't."

How is she supposed to argue with a tall, strong teddy bear? Deep down he's like a child sometimes, so she drops it, though not without a little bit of humour. "Guess I'll have to stop by and rule Asgard now."

Thor's eyes widen, and she sighs, explaining that it had been a joke, and that she wasn't serious.

"What do you know about Steve's disappearance?" Sam asks, pressing on to serious matters. Natasha strains her mind to remember the late night conversation.

"He wanted to go scout ahead, to try and free Jane and Darcy and the woman." Suddenly Natasha realises something, something very important. "Wait. The other woman wasn't there when we were fighting."

Everyone else catches on quickly, well, everyone except Thor. He doesn't even know that someone else went missing. Rhodey quickly catches him up and the conversation continues on.

"So Steve must have run into this mystery woman," Vision says. "But why would he leave with her?"

"The better question is _who_ is she," Sam argues. "We find out who she is, we find out what she wants and why Steve might have left with her."

"Jane and Darcy," Wanda says. "We need them."

Thor pulls out a cell phone his pocket. "I do not understand this device, but she said to use it to call her."

Natasha puts out her hand and Thor deposits the phone onto her palm. She unlocks it and calls Jane, returning the phone to the god.

He talks for a minute before hanging up. "She says the woman had blonde hair and brown eyes. She was a SHIELD agent, apparently."

There are a lot of blonde haired SHIELD agents with brown eyes, but Natasha can only think of two who might be able to convince Steve of anything. Bobbi Morse or Sharon Carter. Considering Bobbi is out of action currently, Natasha has a strong guess that it is Sharon.

"I think it's Sharon Carter," she announces. "That would explain why Steve might leave with her, but it still doesn't explain why he would just leave us."

"Something bigger is going on," Wanda puts in. Natasha nods.

"Loki did say that. He said that there is a surprise in Asgard, one waiting for you to leave, Thor. He also said there was some mischief on earth already that he wanted to add to." Everything is starting to come back now. Even the painful memories, like getting stabbed and backhanded by a Giant.

"A surprise in Asgard? I must go right away. Be careful my friends, and be in contact when you find Steven." Thor walks out, and by the time Sam peeks outside the god is long gone already.

"Obviously Sharon knew what was going on, so she convinces Steve that we can handle the Giants and that there are bigger matters at hand," Rhodey continues the thought process. "Steve went with her, and now they're somewhere, investigating something."

If that is true Natasha can't believe Steve just left her. He didn't even stop by to explain anything or to tell her he'd be okay. It hurts her, it hurts her deeply. She shoves it aside just like she is trained to do.

"I guess we'll just have to figure out what's going on and go and provide some backup," Natasha says. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we've got shit to avenge."

* * *

George Tarleton screams. The pain going through his body blocks out everything pleasant. His body seems to stretch and alter, and his innards feel like liquid. His brain, too, seems like it's been pulled apart without breaking. It's like taffy, constantly stretching, never shattering.

Suddenly the pain ends. He opens his eyes, and everything is different. He feels different. The Supreme Scientist stands above him, a strained smile on his face.

"Welcome, MODOC. How do you feel?" Even as he speaks information floods into George's brain, information that he would have never known as his old self. But he's a computer now, and he knows things no one else can ever know.

"Intelligent." George sits up, and the other doctors and scientists remove the restraining straps. He stands up, and now he feels really different.

"We're going to test you on a few things. Okay?" The Scientist Supreme pulls out a notepad, but George pushes past him. Walking is weird, as he head feels heavier, more off balanced.

"What am I?" George asks. More information runs through his mind, threatening to flood his brain with the over excess of information. The old memories of his life seem to fade away as the new information takes over. Soon he can't recall any faces except for that of the Scientist Supreme.

"You are MODOC. You're a bio-engineered living computer. We created you to be able to unlock the secrets of the Cube." The scientist smiles, proud his invention is working. MODOC knows that smile all too well and what it means.

"I want to see the Cube now." MODOC begins to walk towards the glowing blue object on the other side of the room.

"George—"

"Who's George?" MODOC stands right in front of the Cosmic Cube, and starts reaching his hands towards the object. He can feel the power radiating from it, and his mind computes lines and lines of information, of readings.

MODOC picks up the Cube and stares into its depths, and he learns. He hears things, sees things, and suddenly everything makes sense. His purpose makes sense. He knows what he has to do next.

"Please step away from the Cube," the Scientist Supreme says, and his guards around him hoist up their guns. MODOC laughs, an insane, loud laugh.

"I guess I work," he says, a snort of laughter coming out. "I have unlocked the mysteries of the Cube." His old boss' eyes widen, and a look of wonder comes across his face. "It's beautiful, really. Too bad you won't be alive to see what I have seen."

Suddenly a glowing electrical beam comes out from the Cube and hits the Scientist Supreme, and when it finishes there's nothing but a scorch mark on the ground to give proof that he ever even existed.

"I am the new Scientist Supreme," MODOC announces to the remaining guards, who have wisely lowered their guns.

"What should we call you, sir?" one of them asks.

"MODOK—Mobile Organism Designed Only for Killing." His laughter fills the room as the men scurry out to announce the news.

All that is left of George Tarleton is gone, consumed by this giant-headed, insane being. And he wants power, and he has power.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Hey, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait! FYI, on the flashback memory scene in this chapter not all the dialogue is one-hundred percent correct. It's as close as I can remember, though, and I don't any of you will notice.

And band camp went okay, for those of you wondering. I'm exhausted now, and have spent almost the whole day watching _Arrow_ (I found the first two seasons on DVD on sale for $15 each and now I'm hooked!) and resting, not to mention doing plenty of laundry!

Chapter 6

Steve sits on the couch in the living room of the safe house, using his fork to poke around his food. He's not interested in eating the plain, bland food, and he isn't even hungry. All he can think about is his team and about how he betrayed them.

He still can't believe he just left his team. What if they were hurt because he abandoned them? What if Thor had never showed up and now they're dead? This is his team, his friends. He'd convinced them to join SHIELD, to become Avengers, then he'd ditched them on their first big mission. He'd failed them all.

And most of all, how could he have failed her? Natasha has been his best friend, his advisor, both a teacher and a learner. They'd trained together, fought together, and had been fugitives together. Through it all they have grown close, and created a strong bond. Now it seems that bond is fading away into nothing, and when he sees her again he's afraid they're just going to be strangers. What if they lose everything they'd been working towards?

More like everything _Steve's_ been working towards. He's been struggling to push aside all the darkness and uncertanty inside of him. He's been working towards sorting his feelings and leaving Peggy in the past. He's been trying to forgive and forget, and that isn't easy, especially is this world. And now he just ups and leaves it all behind. That's Natasha's worst fear and the thing that causes her the most pain - abandonment. Being lost. He knows that, and yet he still continued on this stupid, possibly futile mission.

Steve really is hurting over her. He has been since the Ultron threat. When he had seen Natasha in that bar, flirting with Banner, something had broken inside of him. As much as he doesn't want to remember, the memory seems to pop up in his mind, clear as if he is reliving it again.

" _How'd a nice girl like you end up working in a dump like this?" Banner asks, sashaying nervously up to Natasha, who stands behind the bar pouring drinks. She looks beautiful, her make-up done in an attention-drawing way; her eyeliner is striking, and her lips are painted a bold red hue._

" _Fella done me wrong," Natasha replies, shaking her head as she slides him over a shot. She's playing up the act in a flirty way, one Steve is all too familiar with. A small part of him wonders if she's not just acting, but if she's adding some truth—what if he's the "fella" she's referring to? Not that he remembers doing anything wrong to her, but he's so naïve he probably wouldn't know if he had._

 _But of course that's nonsense. She's talking about Banner, because she likes him, and she's attracted to him._

" _Kinda lousy taste in men, then," Banner responds, accepting the drink. He's obviously unsure of how this scene will unfold, and it's apparent in his lame flirting._

" _He's not so bad." Natasha sighs, as if it's a line she's used one too many times. "But he has a temper deep down. Fact is, he's not like anyone I've ever known." She looks up at him, making firm eye contact. She's playing him, Steve realizes, showing him she's the one in control here. He's seen that look before. "All my friends are fighters." She looks down, away from him, a sort of far away sadness in her voice and in her eyes. "And here comes this guy that spends his whole life avoiding a fight because he knows he'll win." A slight smile curls up on the edges of her lips and she looks up._

 _That's the same smile she used with Steve when she tried to set him up on dates. That isn't the smile she has when she's genuinely happy, however. That's not the same smiles she had on her face when Steve told her he trusted her._

 _No, it is. Steve's just being in complete denial right now. He feels betrayed, even though he and her never had anything more than friendship. He feels abandoned, even though he is the one who left her to pull on threads he probably should let die. But what if..._

 _His mind begins thinking crazily. Do her words have a double meaning?_ A guy that spends his whole life avoiding a fight because he knows he'll win. _That is very true with Banner, yes, but it can also be true for Steve. He avoids fights, he always does, but they always catch up to him, always seek him out. And every time, every battle—he wins. He always wins, no matter what. And no matter how hard he tries to avoid battles, they always come to him, and his honour and duty and personality obligates him to fight back and defend the people._

 _But of course that's ridiculous, because Steve is just jealous and is making things up to make himself feel better. He's lonely, still love-sick over Peggy like a schoolboy, and he really just needs to get a life._

 _Bruce smiles in return at her. "That's amazing," he replies, though his voice sounds, well, not amazed as he sips from his alcohol._

" _He's also a huge dork," she adds, keeping her eyes trained on the scientist. He laughs, looking down with the flush of embarrassment crawling up to his face, but she keeps her expression sincere, still immersed in the act._

 _The act. Maybe this is all an act, maybe everything between her and Banner is an act. Deep down Steve hopes it is, though it is a painful act._

" _Chicks dig that," Natasha insists. Bruce seems like he's going to say something, then he shakes his head. She picks up the conversation. "So what do you think? Should I hide from this? Or run with it?"_

 _Bruce looks unsure, and he stutters as he speaks. "R-run with it. Right? Or should—what do you do with it?"_

 _No, Steve is the one being an actor. He's acting as if the relationship between him and Natasha is anything more than platonic, which it obviously isn't. He just needs to drop the act and move on. How could ever expect to fall for a girl like her and have it go both ways? She's perfect in every way he isn't, and she likes guys who are different from him in every single way. She wants a guy who can avoid war. She probably wants to get away from this life eventually, and while Bruce is somehow who runs from this life, Steve just ends up running into it. He's not what she wants, nor will he ever be. At least not while he's Captain America, and it seems he'll in the costume until he dies. It just won't work out, and he needs to accept that._

 _He needs to accept he's not the right man for her._

" _Not a damn thing." She looks up again, her trademark smirk growing. Once that smirk had been Steve's. No longer, it seems. Or maybe it just had never been Steve's. It's not like he owns her or anything."But never say never," she continues seductively. Natasha leans away and stands up, walking away. Banner's eyes follow her retreating figure._

 _Steve is hurt that she has moved on from him without sparing a wayward thought—even though he knows they hadn't ever been a thing, and even though he's spent a lot of time thinking about her—but he feels if Banner makes her happy then she should be allowed that happiness. He heads over to Bruce to give him his own thoughts._

" _That's nice," Steve comments. Banner turns to look at him._

" _W-what? What is?" Bruce mumbles, clearly a little embarrassed._ How has he lasted this long around her? _Steve thinks, though in reality he crosses his arms and leans into the side of the bar, suddenly needing the support. A smile decorates his face, though it is only there to support his teammate to to keep the sadness at bay._

" _You and Romanoff." It hurts too much to say her name, and it doesn't feel right anymore. Now she's no longer his, obviously wanting nothing to do with him. He can and will honour her choices and support her, no matter what. Because, really, she never was his. She's her own person, and she's so strong and beautiful that way. Steve would never want to take that away from her, and if they truly are friends, both he and Natasha and he and Banner, he'll help them stay strong in their relationship. It's what friends do, even if kills him inside._

" _No we haven't—that wasn't—" Banner smiles sheepishly, and Steve cuts him off, though internally chiding him for not appreciating the amazing fact that he has a beautiful, intelligent, strong, and independent woman just handing herself to him._

" _It's okay. Nobody's breaking any laws. It's just she's not the most...open person in the world." It had taken several mission and countless conversations before she had revealed anything to Steve. He had worked hard for her trust and for their relationship, but now she's just handing it all to Bruce on a platter. "But with you she seems very relaxed." Relaxed is bad, especially for her. Relaxing means not keeping both eyes open, and relaxing can lead to collateral damage and even death._

 _Stop thinking like that! She wants to be happy, and she should be happy. She shouldn't have to worry about being watched and followed everywhere; no one would be stupid enough to try and knock her out of action, anyway. And besides, Banner can protect her way better than Steve ever could hope to._

" _No, Natasha's just...she likes to flirt." Still denying the wonderful privilege he has? The woman Steve is willing to die for? Steve can't believe this. He can't get drunk, can't drink away his problems and sadness, but he reaches for a beer anyway._

" _I've seen her flirt. Up close. This ain't bad." Steve begins to walk away, drink in hand. Bruce scoffs, and Steve continues. "Look, as maybe the world's leading authority on waiting too long—don't." Banner probably thinks he's referring to Peggy, but really Steve is talking about Natasha. He likes her, especially after working as partners within SHIELD after the Battle of New York. He had always thought about asking her out, but he never had gained to courage. Not it's too late and he's lost her to another man. "You both deserve a win," he adds. He can't his face from settling into a grim look despite his worlds. Thinking of nothing more to say he looks down, nods, and begins walking away._

" _W-what do you mean, up close?" Banner calls after him, but Steve doesn't reply. He can't; the pain of losing her is rising up, fresh inside of him._

Sharon walks in, interrupting his thoughts. She has cleaned up nicely and she sits on the couch across from him.

"Penny for your thoughts, soldier?" she asks. Steve looks up at her, into her wide and innocent brown eyes that remind him so much of Peggy's. The darkness in him demands that he locks down on his feelings, that he buries them deep and locks them away, but doing so would only aid their side. The only way he's going to be able to beat this darkness is by sharing his burden with others, and letting their light and wisdom shine through to help him. So Sharon is to be trusted.

"In the car you asked me if there is anyone I had in mind, you know, that I like," he says, and briefly pauses. If he keeps going now there's no turning back. "There is."

Sharon nods, though she doesn't say anything, leaving him to take his time to think through what he wants to say. He's thankful for that, and he's suddenly grateful that he decided to fully trust her.

"I thought we had something," he continues. "Call it chemistry, call it a connection, whatever you want, but I thought we had that. We flirted, we talked, and we even shared a few moments. Then she suddenly went cold, stopped talking to me, and didn't even give an explanation. Next time we're together she's moved on to the next guy. Natasha didn't even give me a chance."

He feels pitiful, like it's a sin to confess his feelings. To be honest, he doesn't know what he would have done or how he would have acted if she had given him a chance, but now it seems like he'd give anything for a second chance. Because after reliving that vision, and after having an hour of free time by himself with just his thoughts to entertain him, he's come to the conclusion that the only way to fight the darkness in him is to confront it head on.

"She's come a long way. I really hoped that special something could turn into more, but it just never did. I miss her now, and I don't even know if she's okay. Ditching her back there in New Mexico..." he shakes his head. "I don't know how I did it, or why. But it would feel wrong to just go back now." He sighs, and stands. "We need to keep moving, to finish this mission."

Sharon nods and follows his example. "She reminds you of Peggy, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Steve says quietly. "She does."

There are tons of ways in which she reminds him of Peggy: the way she rose from the bottom ranks to become the best of the best, the way she always has been able to take care of herself without the help of men, the way she doesn't tolerate slackers. That's not even to mention the way she always has had faith in him, the way she works effortlessly by his side, the way she is his equal, not his subordinate.

And he respects her, just like he respects Peggy.

In some ways she is becoming more like his old flame, but in other ways she is her own person. Natasha doesn't hesitate to finish a job she's tasked with. Natasha doesn't take crap from others; she serves it back out. She doesn't take orders from men, and she questions Steve often. And unlike Peggy, she shamelessly flirts with him and teases him, while at the same time reassuring him of his strength and his power.

"I guess the most frustrating thing is that I never let myself admit that I liked her," Steve adds after a few seconds. "I told myself it wasn't my heart drawing me to her, but it really was. I lied to myself, and now I've lost a chance at something good."

Sharon lays a hand on his arm. "Don't give up hope yet. If you really love her and she really loves you then she'll be waiting for you. That's how you know it's real."

Steve sighs. "I'm just not sure I deserve her."

"I can guarantee that she's thinking the exact same thing," Sharon replies. "Now let's go so that you can see her again soon. Then you can fix all of this, and maybe you can finally get your happy ending."

 _Your happy ending._ Those three words don't go together in either Steve or Natasha's world. There's no such thing as a happy ending for heroes. There's only pain and tragedy. Steve's been there, done that. And he's accepted it.

But it's still a nice, comforting thought that maybe once in this dark, horrible place something might go right for once.

* * *

All the Avengers (which the exception of Steve, of course) are gathered around Natasha's bed, and Fury and Hill are also present (nice of them to finally join in - late, as per usual).

"Loki said there had been some mischief and chaos going on at HYDRA and AIM," Natasha says, fixing Fury with a glare. "What are your reports saying? Why haven't we heard about this yet?" Secrets again. Natasha's getting real sick and tired of this. Soon she'll start having to spy on SHIELD just to keep up with things.

Fury sighs, expelling air in a current. He's starting to look his age, the stress of working everything again finally getting to him. It doesn't fool Natasha nor make her hesitate for a second. "Yesterday there were reports of a new Scientist Supreme. Scared the hell out of a lot of agents, apparently."

"So there's a scary new leader of AIM?" Rhodey asks. "Doesn't sound like our department."

"He came out of nowhere," Hill adds. "He's mutated from experiments, at least that's what our insider said in her last report."

"You have someone on the inside? And they don't know what's going on?" Natasha shakes her head in disbelief. "What kind of agents do you guys even have?"

Fury glares at her. "This is one of our best, Romanoff. She went off the radar two weeks ago and only reported again yesterday. Says the guy came out of nowhere. His name is George Tarleton."

Hill pulls out a tablet and shows the agents the man's file. "Average technician, says he had been randomly selected for something by his boss. It doesn't say exactly what, but our insider says he had been experimented on. Made him really smart, apparently. Then he got his hands on the Cube and went nutso, killing the current leader and restoring his own tyrannical rule."

"They have the freakin' Cosmic Cube?" Sam whistles. "How did they get their hands on that?"

"We don't know," Fury replies, fixing the agent with a glare. "That doesn't matter, either. What matters is that this George guy has it, and apparently he knows how to use it. We want to rescue AIM from him and bring him here."

"You want to bring him here to teach you how to use the Cube?" Wanda asks. She has been quiet lately, but now everyone looks her way. She shakes her head. "Men with power do no good. He will not help you."

"How do you know?" Fury questions gruffly, not happy at having his orders questioned. Wanda doesn't take the out, and instead pushes her argument.

"I spent a year of my life with Von Strucker in the midst of HYDRA. I saw what they do. Men with power will not give it up until they are dead, and if you think this guy is any different than you must be stupid." Her tone is seething, and suddenly Natasha worries the girl has gone too far. Fury's face is at first surprised at her insolence, then he narrows his eyes.

"Listen here, Miss Maximoff. You may think that just because you have telepathic and telekinetic powers that you can do and say whatever you want, but that is not the case. There is a little something called authority, and respect, and I'm not seeing any. I have been working against HYDRA and AIM my whole life, and if you think I do not know what they are capable of then you are wrong. I have lost many good agents to them. Who have you lost?"

"I lost my brother," Wanda shoots back bitterly, and the room goes silent. But she isn't done. "I lost my parents. Everyone I knew, and everyone I loved. Both times due to the actions of your pet billionaire Stark. I joined the Avengers to help keep others safe from the same fate, and by letting criminals with power live then I am failing, and I might as well not have joined SHIELD at all, and if Captain Rogers is here he would agree with me."

"I'm with her," Vision adds. "My purpose here is to help keep humanity safe, and if that means destroying the threat then that is what I will do."

"This isn't the first time you've done this," Natasha fires at Fury. "During the Battle of New York you wanted to use the Cube/Tesseract and Loki's spear to create weapons of mass destruction instead of just eliminating the current threat, and during the SHIELD fallout you were designing helicarriers to target possible threats, which ended up turning on you and almost killing twenty million people, including the Avengers and even innocent children who could have possibly grown up to be a threat. I think it's time we stop trying to create weapons and instead try to get them out of the reach of anyone on Earth. I know Steve would have wanted this."

"So where is he?" Fury asks. "If you all are so sure about what his interests are, and what he's like, then where is he? He ditched you, left you to face the Giants alone, and where is he now?"

It goes silent again, this time a tense silence. Natasha can't believe he just played that card. In fact, she can't believe a lot of what Fury has been saying and standing for lately.

"It doesn't matter," Natasha replies. "We all trust him, and we trust that he's doing what is best for the world and for us. But for now, I'm the leader of this team, and if I say we go and out this power-hungry guy then I know I have the support of my team."

"And what if you don't have the say-so of SHIELD?" Fury questions.

"Then we'll break away and become our own team." Natasha's standings are firm. She knows Steve has almost quit SHIELD before. Heck, she and him were fugitives from SHIELD together. Steve wants to do what's right, and now Natasha is starting to want that too. She knows the team also has the same opinions, and they'll follow the one who leads them in the right path.

"That won't be necessary," a voice says from the back, a familiar voice Natasha can't place. There are footsteps and a familiar face comes into view.

"Coulson?" she asks. He smiles, and she feels a smile creep up onto his face.

"In the flesh. I look great, don't I?" Natasha motions him closer, and she gives him a half-hug. "You took care of my cards, right?"

"Of course I did," she replies. "Steve signed them, too, but I think he has them right now."

"I'm not even mad about it." Coulson steps away from her, and she sees he has one arm in a sling. Actually, it doesn't even look like his whole arm, but she doesn't ask. Natasha wonders how he came back from being dead, or if he even ever actually did die (ever since she learned the truth about the Winter Soldier she has begun to have doubts that anyone actually ever dies).

"I don't understand," Rhodey says. "I thought you died during the Battle of New York."

"I guess you can consider yourself a level seven agent now. I'm alive. Yay." He smiles in his small way. "I'm the new Director of SHIELD, actually, but you don't have to congratulate me. I've been behind all of your missions, and when Ultron flew the city it was I who had commissioned the transports to get those people off the city safely. I've been here the whole time."

Natasha can't believe what she is hearing. So this is how SHIELD survived even when Fury and Hill left; Coulson had picked up the mantle and started small, then eventually grew the organization again.

"But how did you…" Sam motions with his hands to Coulson. The Director simply shrugs.

"I went to a magical place. But enough about me, what's important is that you're doing exactly what I hoped you would be doing. Yes, there is a disturbance at AIM, and I think it is important that you recover so you can go gauge the threat and eliminate it. What I came to tell you is that you're going to need backup, or at least a few more powerful members to your team. The Cube is one of the most dangerous substances in this galaxy, and in the wrong hands it will be catastrophically deadly, so unless any of you can simply will it to do things, then I suggest you get backup."

"Like who?" Natasha asks. "Is there any other powered people we know of?"

"Well, you could always call in Stark. He can't say no to a challenge, and he's looking for redemption after the Ultron incident. I wouldn't suggest Banner, but you can also try Barton. Thor's busy in Asgard I would guess, but I think an extra two Avengers could make all the difference, especially one as powerful as Iron Man." Coulson nods and starts to leave. He stops suddenly. "Also, remember this conversation is classified, so it never happened." He turns to Wanda and says something quietly to her before leaving.

Natasha is in shock. Somewhere in her mind she can't believe he had just been here, talking to her, full of life. He seemed like his normal self, but she had seen a darkness in his eyes, and he looked like he had aged more than a few years. Whatever he's been doing must be wearing on him.

"Well, you heard the man," Fury says. "You have your orders."

* * *

The metal gates topped with barbed wire looms about a mile in front of the two agents. Sharon parks the car in a hidden area of the forest and turns off the engine, but she stays seated, staring straight ahead. Her muscles are tense, and she is barely breathing.

Those aren't signs of a relaxed agent about to go spying. Either she's terrified of what's ahead or she's hiding something, and she's afraid to tell him the truth.

"What is it?" Steve asks, giving her the benefit of the doubt. He isn't worried about beating her in a fight; that's a given, considering the serum that pumps through his blood, giving him perfect human physique.

"I have to go in alone," she says. Steve narrows his eyes.

"We made a deal," he replies. "We go in together, we work together. No splitting up. You agreed to that."

"I know, but I never intended on keeping the deal," she answers. She still isn't looking at him, and he knows whatever decision she's making is hard, and she's afraid she'll go back on it.

This is all too familiar. Steve has seen this look on people's face before.

"You're HYDRA, aren't you?" he accuses. Sharon twists her head to look his direction with blatant disbelief on her face.

"No! I'm not HYDRA! God, Steve." She shakes her head violently, her blonde waves bouncing. "No, it's just that I've been on a mission here from SHIELD before Loki captured me. I already have a cover, and I can get in without causing suspicion, then I can let you in later. I can be like an inside man."

"How can I trust you?" Steve steels her with a harsh look. He likes her, but his trust in her is starting to fade. She could have explained this earlier and maybe he would have gone along with it, but now that she's springing it on him last minute he can't.

He'd trusted her with his story, and this is how she repays him? By admitting she'd lied to him the entire time and by betraying him? Things really are bad for Steve; if this is how his friends treat him then he doesn't want to know how his enemies are going to welcome him.

"You know me," she pleads. "I'm not HYDRA, and I'm on a mission from SHIELD. I give you my word I'll let you in later, at night, after I'm safely in."

"Why are you telling me this now? Why didn't you mention it earlier?"

Sharon sighs. "Just trust me on this, Steve. I've been on this case for months now, ever since SHIELD figured out AIM had possession of the Cube. You can call Fury yourself."

"You said we didn't have contact with anyone from SHIELD earlier," Steve argues. "How much have you been lying about, Agent Thirteen?"

"I have to do this. I'll let you in after dark," she says, clenching her fists and ignoring his accusations.

"What makes you think I'm agreeing with this?" he demands. "Because I'm not."

"Nothing. You have no choice." She lunches with one hand, and he sees the flash of metal. He grabs her wrist and twists, and she drops the syringe in her hand, a small cry of pain escaping her lips. He picks up the syringe with his free hand and examines the blue contents.

"What is this stuff, anyway?" As he's trying to read the label he suddenly feels a prick in his thigh, and when he looks down he sees her other hand plunging an identical needle into his skin. His eyesight is turning blearly, even though it's only seconds later. "Drugs aren't supposed to work on me," he whispers in disbelief, struggling to stay focused to no avail.

"This is specially manufactured by our scientists to knock you out," Sharon answers. "You'll wake up in five hours. Meet me at the gates then." She leans over him and pushes his door open, pushing him gently out of the car. He slides out, barely resisting. The drugs are making him see spots, and he feel nauseated. Just before everything goes black he thinks he hears her say, "Sorry, Captain."

* * *

Sharon drives the car up to the front gates and shows her false, cover ID to the monitor. The gates swing open and she drives through.

Guilt eats away at her from the inside. She can't believe she just left Steve dumped in the forest. She knows he'll be alright, but she also knows she lost his trust. _I had to do it_ , she tells herself. _I'm an agent, and sometimes I do bad things for the greater good_.

But why? Why does SHIELD say that the end justifies the means? It doesn't always. Steve had been right; she should have confessed the truth to him from the beginning, but she can't have him risk blowing her cover. She needs to get in, get the information, and either get out or let Rogers in. Her job is to assess the threat and decide what kind of forces they need to contain the target.

The last thing she reported to Fury had been about the man, George Tarleton, who had been experimented on. To what ends she knows not, but that's why she's here now. She knows there's been a struggle and a power shift, and it's her job to get information for SHIELD. This has been her whole life, this spying game. And every time she participates in it she can only hope she gets out alive.

She strides through the halls, and she can feel the fear in the air. The tension is palpable, and the frightened and nervous looks on the faces of the other AIM agents only strives her to get her job done faster. Most of these people only signed on to help lend a hand to amazing scientific discoveries, and now they're living in a world of fear.

The Cube should have never reached Earth. So much trouble could have been avoided if it had only stayed in space where it originated. Sharon hopes SHIELD doesn't expect to get the Cube back, because she knows it doesn't belong in the hands of mankind. That's why it is her job to help get it out of the hands of evil.

As she reaches her station and logs in, a man comes up to her. He's so nervous he's sweating, and he looks at her in pity.

"Boss wants to see you up in the upper levels," the man says. Sharon nods and starts walking. The man reaches out and grabs her arm. She turns to him. "What?"

"You do know, right?" the guy asks. "This is the new guy. MODOK, he calls himself. He killed the Scientist Supreme and has complete control. He's completely insane."

"I'll be careful," she assures him. The man just shakes his head.

"You're already dead if he wants to see you."

Sharon turns away from him and keeps walking forward, though she can't help but worry. If MODOK has control over the Cube then he must be completely unstable. And it means he must know everything, including her real alliances. That's probably why he's calling her up—to kill her.

 _Don't be ridiculous_ , she tells herself. _You're overreacting. This situation isn't even that bad yet._

She keeps telling herself that as she confidently walks up to see who this new boss guy is.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Thank you for the kind reviews! They really do make my day :) I'd like to do a shout-out to **Jokerang** : I know you don't ship Romanogers, but you still read my stories and leave constructive and nice feedback, so thank you. Your own stories are awesome, btw.

Chapter 7

"What are we doing again?" Tony asks, poking around at the things next to Natasha's hospital bed. He's constantly tinkering around with things, touching items, and just about driving her crazy - and she _really_ good patience skills. "And what the hell happened to you?"

Natasha sighs inwardly. She's already had enough of Stark, and he's only been here an hour. How had they ever worked together with the original Avengers?

Steve. Of course. While Steve and Tony had their difficulties they always managed to make it back up, and Steve had always been the bridge. Now, without Steve, things are way more difficult. People are more difficult.

Luckily Rhodey picks up the cue. It's a good thing he's here, otherwise Natasha might have jumped up from her hospital bed and killed Tony already. (She's thought out a dozen different ways already.)

"AIM has a new leader, or Scientist Supreme. He's an experiment, and he somehow knows how to use the Cube."

"Oh, the glowing blue thing?" Tony turns and crosses his arms. "I thought Thor took that back to Asgard. A great job he did with protecting it. Do you realise how much money in collateral damage I had to pay for the destruction it caused?" At Natasha's death glare he quickly changed his words. "So you want me to suit up and help you guys invade his base and contain him? Get the Cube away?"

Rhodey nods. "And as for our injuries, well, while you and Pepper were having fun in the Tower we were fighting a few dozen Frost Giants brought here by Loki."

"Ooh, I kinda miss that guy," Tony says, instantly reverting back to picking through Natasha's stuff.

"He's a villain. He killed people," Natasha snaps. "And he stabbed me."

"But he has style, and I have to admit that I respect those with style. Cap wasn't wrong about that." Tony finally stops messing with the things and turns back to them. "Though the sinister black Christmas tree-like hair was a bit much. And his reindeer game also came out a big strong. Speaking of which, how does he get all that stuff? Does he have a special costumes store in Asgard that he frequents? Does he specially order it? I still don't believe in all that magic-y shenanigans." He continues talking to himself, though everyone else tunes him out.

Wanda enters the room, sliding a cell phone into her pocket. "Clint is on his way now."

So they lost Steve but gained Iron Man and Hawkeye. Skill wise, an equal trade, but as much as Natasha likes them, she would much rather have Steve any day. He's comfortable, and she doesn't have to worry about him in battle, while she constantly is annoyed Tony's lack of obedience and worried for Clint. He does have a family, after all, and she can't live with herself if something happened to him in the heat of battle.

Sure, she worries for Steve, too, but if the serum running through his veins and embedded in his DNA can keep him alive while being frozen for seventy years then it can take a few hits without too much consequence. Unfortunately Clint does not have that advantage, hence her extra worry.

"Do we even know where this base is?" Tony questions. He's pacing the room now, and Natasha can't help but think how awful a spy he would make. He can't stand still for more than thirty seconds, and he's constantly talking. It's a good thing he's only a consultant to SHIELD and not an agent.

Natasha shudders at the mere thought of Tony being a SHIELD agent. He'd come to work late everyday (and probably with a hangover), he'd jepordize missions, and probably disobey direct orders. Sure, Tony can be very helpful, and at heart he's a good man, but closer to the surface...he's more of a rogue fighter.

"Of course. Fury has an undercover agent stationed there. We don't have contact with her, though, so we're on our own unless we run into her."

"And what about Capsicle?"

Natasha sighs inwardly again. Steve doesn't look back at his time in the ice fondly, and Tony only antagonizes him by continually calling him by such nicknames. Not to mention she's also frustrated that Tony keeps bringing up subjects she doesn't want to talk about.

"We think he's at the base already, scouting it out and spying. Hopefully he'll meet up with us there for the final battle, and we can fight alongside him. If he's not there then no one knows where he's at." It still hurts whenever she admits he's gone, and especially having to entertain the possibility that he might not even be there. If he isn't there then she might not see him again for a long time...

"I still can't believe he just ditched you. Doesn't sound like the Cap I know, though we did all come out of the Ultron battle changed." Tony's voice doesn't hold any bitterness or disregard, but it still irritates Natasha. She finally reaches the end of her almost infinite patience, and it all comes out.

"Can everybody stop saying that?" she snaps, again. Everyone looks at her strangely; usually she's the master at hiding her emotions, but for once she can't hold back the lash of anger inside of her. "Steve does what's best for all of us, and we need to trust him. So please, stop saying he ditched us. He's out there protecting us, wherever he may be."

Tony raises his hands in surrender. "Sorry. Just voicing my opinions."

"Not everyone wants to hear them," Natasha shoots back harshly, and instantly she feels a little bad. She's supposed to be the leader here, but she can't even deal with Tony in a kind way. Steve would be handling things way better. "I'm...sorry." She can barely force the words out, but once again she tells herself it's what Steve would do.

Tony's eyes widen. "Did she just..." he shakes his head. "Jeez, I hide away for a few months and already everyone is changing on me. Don't tell me Steve has started to swear on a regular basis. Please. I'm not ready for that."

"I am trying to be a respectful leader here," Natasha says in a warning voice, "but my patience is wearing thin. I got stabbed with a spear by an Asgardian bastard, and I don't hold much love for you, so please, just shut up before I make you." She inhales deeply and turns to Wanda. "How far away is Barton?" She really needs a friend right now. Natasha needs someone who understands her and will listen. Most of all, she needs someone who will help her sort things out.

"A few hours," the girl responds, and Natasha nods. "Okay. Everyone go get some rest, and when he arrives we'll go wage war on the base. But I'm serious about the rest, we all need it. This guy with the Cube isn't going to be easy to beat, so the battle might get pretty long."

Everyone filters out, even Tony, though she doubts he's going to get some rest (the guy never sleeps until he passes out from exhaustion, she knows that from the time she spent living at the Avengers Tower). She herself settles in, knowing she's going to have to fight, despite however much her shoulder is hurting her.

Still, she reminds herself she'll probably see Steve, and that makes the pain ebb away. These feelings will have to go, but she'll entertain them for now. It can't hurt, can it?

* * *

Steve wakes up, his vision blurry and his mind slightly drowsy. He remembers Sharon stabbing him with the needle, and at first he feels a crimson tide of anger wash through him. When it crests and breaks, and his head clears, he remembers her excuses. Though they are just excuses he still trusts that she told the truth.

At least he is forcing himself to trust that she's telling the truth. The darkness in him is started to creep back with the weight of yet another betrayal, and the only way to fight is off is to forgive and forget. Forgiving isn't too hard, it's the forgetting that Steve is really trying to grit his teeth about. He has to, though; this darkness cannot stay in him.

The sky is starting to darken, so he sneaks around the forest, staying up near the fringe. When the world is dark enough to hide him he sets off at a sprint towards the base. Hopefully Sharon is keeping up her side of the word and is waiting to let him in from the inside. Otherwise it will be a nasty fight to get in, and he really isn't in the mood for beating people up. He knows he'll win, he always does, but it doesn't mean he enjoys it.

He runs the circumference of the fence around the base, a good few miles, but there's no one, and on his second lap the alarms go off. He knows he can run and still get away now, but it feels wrong to him, so he pulls his shield from off his back and braces himself for a fight, though not without sparing a complaint-filled thought directed towards Sharon. She really is like Peggy, so much so that Steve can't really begrudge her for long.

The gates swing open and a few dozen armed men run out, night vision goggles glinting on their faces. So they do have some advantages beyond him, but his senses are perfect, so he can hear them.

He ducks under his shield as the first of them fire. The bullets ricochet off the vibranium harmlessly, and he tilts his shield so they return to hit their owners. The men fall with barely a soft cry escaping from their lips. When the majority are down he sprints forward, throwing his shield Frisbee-style at one of them and using hand-to-hand combat against a small group, disarming and knocking them out in mere seconds. He sticks his arm out and his shield bounces back.

Steve runs through the gates, ducking and rolling as automatic machine guns fire at him from the top of the gates. The bullets all thud uselessly into the ground and he runs for the poles of the gate, clicking his shield onto his back as he begins to shimmy up the poles. Reaching the top he disables the guns and throws the operators off and onto the ground. He then jumps and lands in a roll to spread out the impact and comes up running.

There's already another group of men in front of the base doors, machine guns and grenades and all sorts of advanced weapons that Steve doesn't want to know the effects of. He pulls out his shield and does the one thing he's good at: jumping in the fray and simply fighting through it.

A grenade is thrown his way and he uses his shield to hit it right back. The exploding object hits the ground in front of a few men, throwing them and their weapons into the air. The rest open fire, and Steve ducks behind his shield as he slowly makes his way closer. A few men jump him, but he punches and kicks and sends them flying several feet away.

One of the men fires a rocket launcher, and Steve jumps to the side. The missile explodes somewhere behind him, throwing him forward into the agents. Steve pushes against the men with his shield on one side and punches and claws his way on the other side, his grace momentarily gone as the explosion had messily propelled him forward.

The men overpower him eventually, and he submits, a plan formulating in his mind. They handcuff him, but make the mistake of using only one set. As they lead him into the compound his plan takes action; the moment they get stuck in the narrow halls he snaps the cuffs off effortlessly and starts fighting them again. Now they can't use their guns in case of missing and having the bullets ricochet everywhere, so they have to fight him traditionally.

Many pull out knives, but he uses his quick reflexives to snap their wrists and the edge of the shield to knock the blades out of grasps. HYDRA might not come at him with a pocket knife (which they technically did, since they sent the Winter Soldier with a pocket knife) but AIM will stop at nothing. He's nearly overpowered all of them when a voice reverberates from the PA system.

It's a grisly voice, and one that Steve knows belongs to an insane man. "Put down your weapons and give it up, Captain Rogers, or the girl gets it." Such a cliche line, really. But it answers the question of where Sharon is. She had been caught. And, of course, they'd use her against them. They saw his compassion as weakness. "And she really is such a pretty girl. I'd hate to have to scrape up the pieces."

Steve drops his shield and puts his hands behind his head, staring the video camera in the wall straight on, making sure the man knows he hasn't won yet. The remaining standing agents cuff him again, and this time they train their weapons on him as they escort him through the halls, up elevators, and towards the main office of the Scientist Supreme.

When Steve sees the man he has to resist to urge to gag. The man's head is huge, way off proportion to his body. His eyes are red and puffy, and his face is set in an insane smile. Steve would rather Loki than this man any day; Loki is still human (well, emotion-wise) and is still somewhat good. This "man", however, has nothing left except computer, and the soldier knows there is no reasoning with him.

Worse is the Cube that sits right behind the man, it's blue glowing haunting shadows on the opposite side of the room, where Sharon is shackled up and kneeling. She looks beaten, her face bloodied and bruised. She avoids Steve's eyes as he's forced to his knees next to her and also chained up.

"What do you want from us?" he asks, undaunted and not allowing his emotions to get the best of him. In this moment he is not Steve Rogers but Captain America, and Captain America does not curl up and hide in the face of danger. "And who are you?"

"I'm MODOK," the creature announces. "What do I want from you? Nothing. But I do know your friends will come for you, and I need to destroy the whole lot of you. You all try to kill me, to take my power away. You can't, not anymore. I know everything. The Cube has shown me everything." He cackles, acting as if something if funny.

"Are you going to stop with killing us?" Steve demands. "Or are you going to keep killing everyone until you're all that's left?"

"I'll kill any threats," MODOK replies. "You see, I'm not as bad as those HYDRA men you fought when SHIELD collapsed." Steve must look surprised, for the creature nods. "Oh, yes. I know about all your troubles. Everything. They created that targeting algorithm to kill any possible threats, but I'm only going to kill any immediate threats. Much more humanly." It laughs again, and Steve narrows his eyes in anger.

There is nothing humanly about killing people, whether they're a threat or not. If you kill a trained military man you're just as guilty as if you kill a child. If you kill one man you're just as guilty as killing a dozen. Quantity doesn't matter, but obviously this thing is misguided on this matter (on every matter, if his prior behaviour is any prediction).

How come the villains are always so righteous in their own eyes?

* * *

 _Not again,_ Wanda thinks, but even she can't stop the dreams that return to her mind. Dreams she calls them, but they're more like nightmares. Every night the same horrible scene playing out again in her mind, leaving her waking in a world that is not so different than the worst things in dreams.

First come the happy, light childhood memories. Playing with her twin brother, Pietro. Running around the little village, chasing dogs and cats, sneaking food from the street vendors, and driving their mother and the neighbours crazy. Then there's Pietro, stealing her things, teasing her, and now she's the one who's fed up.

Their father returns from his work, and he sits down. They say grace over their sparse dinner. It isn't much, but they're lucky for what they have, for it is more than some of the people around them. There's her mother, coming home late from working odd and mostly nasty jobs; she does her best to provide for her children, and Pietro and Wanda are forever thankful.

Then the fatal night comes. The air is filled with smoke and fire and the screams of their neighbours. Wanda and Pietro are being shoved under the bed by their parents, and they close their eyes and hold each other close, praying the death and destruction with end soon.

The missile falls on the floor a few feet from them, Stark Industries painted across the white bomb in harsh red lettering. Wanda buries her face in Pietro's shoulder, knowing this is the end. He holds her closer, and they both cry, their ten-year-old selves scared out of their minds.

Waking up, they find the missile never exploded and that they're still alive. They venture out cautiously, and they find their parent's corpses along with the bodies of all their neighbours and friends. Everything around them is destroyed, and all they're left with is each other.

Pietro and Wanda hold hands as they leave their past behind and try to move on to a brighter future. She sees them stealing food to survive, sleeping in nooks and crannies of large, poverty-stricken cities. They attend anti-Stark protests, and they graffiti the cement buildings with their bitterness and hate. She's hit on and bothered by older men in the cities they go to, and Pietro gets lost in winding streets in the dark. They go on adventures and see things that they shouldn't, and they grow up faster then their parents would have wanted.

A man comes up to them when they're older, asking for volunteers for enhancement experimentations. Having nothing else to do, the two agree. Everyone else who participated in the experiments died, but not Wanda and Pietro. They held on to each other the whole time, and through the pain they anchored each other. They became the equal to the Avengers.

Wanda thinks maybe she'll make it past the worst memory. Maybe for once she can escape before the pain comes, flashing back hot and angry. Unfortunately it doesn't, and she's thrown back into the worst moment of her life.

 _Wanda is protecting the core, standing inside the remains of the old church. The other Avengers have just left, her brother included. He wanted to stay and protect her, but really, things are the other way around; she's the deep thinker, the strategist. He's the impulsive one, and she wishes he can be here so she can protect him, though she is the one better suited for protection._

It's okay _, she tells herself._ We're with the Avengers now. They can protect us.

 _She has to let Pietro go, she has to let him mature and learn on his own. He's smart, and she knows he'll make the right decisions. That thought in mind,_ _she continues fighting, keeping back Ultron's minions with her red power. She's never used it in a way like this before, and it feels liberating._

 _In the distance she can hear the sound of a quinjet and its machine guns, but she assumes it's just the SHIELD people who are rescuing the inhabitants of the city. They probably have evacuated everyone and are just taking out some extra robots on the way._

 _A bad feeling starts to grow in the pit of her stomach, however. She reaches out with her mind as she fights, and she locates Pietro's. Though she can't tell exactly what he's thinking she can sense that he's weighing some options, trying to make a decision._

 _For once in his life, he's thinking something through the whole way. Part of her is proud of him, proud that he's finally thinking with his head._

 _She loses contact for a few seconds and realizes he is running. She finds his conscious again and holds it, and she senses fear in him. Since when is Pietro scared of anything?_

 _With the fear comes a sadness, a sorrow, and she's starting to wonder exactly what's happening. His fear climaxes, and suddenly there's pain, pain everywhere, hot and burning. Wanda stops fighting and focuses. Is her brother alright? What happened?_

 _There's more pain, and she digs in further to see a flurry of images run through his mind. She sees their past, their parents, some thoughts of the Avengers, but mostly ones of her. His life is literally flashing before his, and her, own eyes. Out of the murkiness of his mind comes three clear words: "I'm sorry, Wanda."_

 _Then his mind completely blanks out, and pain and grief fills her. She stops, and the tears come, falling down her face in a fountain. She stands, teetering on her feet, her legs wanting nothing but to give out, barely holding on to reality. She doesn't want to fight anymore; her brother is gone, and now she has nothing. She is nothing. Pietro is the one who has kept her going and alive for the last decade of her life, the only one who has ever mattered, the only one she has ever loved. And now he's gone and she's left._

 _There's an emptiness inside of her, and she's knows she's gone with him, at least mentally. Inside there is nothing, for her heart and her soul passed with her brother. Her legs finally give way and she falls, power surging out of her hands as hot and red as his blood, and it annihilates all the robots within the vicinity. But not even killing them can change the fact that she's lost her brother, and nothing will ever change that._

 _Wanda doesn't realize she had bent over on her hands and knees until she began to raise her head. She doesn't care, either; nothing matters anymore. Her whole life's purpose until now has been to take care of her brother, to protect him, to be at his side, and she failed. He's gone, and he's never coming back. She failed him. She failed her parents. She failed herself._

 _A hot, boiling, crimson wave of rage rolls through her, consuming her, the only emotion inside besides the complete numbness. Maybe she can't bring him back but she can at least exact vengeance, for she knows who killed him._

 _Wanda knows who has destroyed everything she loves, and she will destroy him, if it's the last thing that she does. She's an Avenger now, and she'll avenge her brother._

There's a hand gently shaking her shoulder, and Wanda instinctively sits up as fast as she can, the hand falling away. Her eyes feel crusted together with salty tears and she hastily wipes her eyes. No one has to see her like this.

"Hey, it's okay," a feminine voice says. Wanda looks over to see Natasha next to her, looking down at her in a concerned manner. Wanda shoves her bed covers away and dangles her feet over the mattress, sitting on the edge. Natasha sits next to her, uncharacteristically warm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

A bitter laugh escapes the telepath's lips. "What do you think?" she asks. Natasha sighs.

"Of course not. I'm sorry, I'm not really good at this kind of thing. Steve's the one who always does this, but he's not here." The spy looks down at her hands folded in her lap, and Wanda knows she's lost in her own thoughts, her own problems.

She has to give the spy a chance. She can't just leave her hanging out to dry, especially since she came here of her own accord and volunteered to have a talk. Natasha has good meaning, and Wanda knows how rare it is for her to open up or take the initiative to help others open up, so Wanda has to at least try and reward her efforts.

"Do you...do you know what it is like to lose everything in a moment?" Wanda questions. Normally she wouldn't talk about this, not this painful, heartbreaking moment, but she can see Natasha is really trying to step up and replace Steve. Well, not totally replace, but at least substitute in. Wanda knows that Steve has felt the same things she has felt. "For everything you lived for to be stripped away, for everyone you love to be taken from you, and for everything bright and hopeful in you to wither away and die?"

Natasha smiles a little and looks over at the girl. "Honestly, no. I've been trained from a young age to not feel, and I've never had any hope or anything bright. My soul's like a one way trip to a black abyss of nothingness." She pauses. "But I do know what it is like to love someone and then to watch them leave, just see them turn their back and disappear without a second thought. It's not quite the same as in your case, though."

"You are referring to Doctor Banner?" Wanda asks.

Natasha smiles wryly, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "No, I'm not talking about him. I didn't really love him. No, what happened between us was not love. Trust, maybe. Mutual respect, definitely. Warm feelings, possibly, but not love. Love is too strong a word for something as quick and fleeting as what we had."

Wanda nods. "Then you're talking about Steve," she says. "You love him, don't you? You always have."

"I...don't know. I grew up learning not to love, learning to be a killer, and I guess I didn't realize what it was I had been feeling until the opportunity passed by. We were fugitives for a while, and I...I played him, you can say. I tried things out on him, and something woke inside of me. I ignored my heart and let him walk away after that. Worst decision of my life, and that's saying a lot." Natasha looks over at Wanda. "Your turn."

"Every night I dream about my parents, and about Pietro," Wanda replies. She takes a moment to compose herself before continuing. "Every night I relive our glory days, and every night they always end up twisting into the deaths. I have to watch him die every night. It's like my own personal hell on Earth. Every morning I wake up and have to suffer through another day without him, only to return to the night and see him die again. It never gets better, and it's a twisting, circling cycle that I can't get out of." She takes a moment to brush away some stray tears. "The worst part is that I don't want to get out of it. I'm afraid if it ends I'll stop seeing him and I'll forget about him."

"I'm going to tell you a secret," Natasha says, leaning closer to Wanda and lowering her voice. "I've been a spy and assassin for years, and I've killed countless people, yet I have never forgotten a face. I see them all in my head every time I see a gun or a knife or any weapon at all. They all flash back in my head, and I don't even know most of their names. If I can remember all the men I killed then you will always be able to remember your brother."

Wanda looks into Natasha's eyes and knows it's true. The only person she's seen before with equal suffering is that of their captain himself. It seems to be a common theme with heroes.

"They say heroes are defined and created by their tragedies," Wanda remarks. "I think they're right. I've never been the same since I lost Pietro. I'm a different person, both inside and out."

"You're not the only one," Natasha assures her. "Pietro's death affected a lot of the team. Steve takes it hard. Deep down he really liked him, and he blames himself for not being able to protect him. You may not know, but he's constantly pushing himself to new limits so he can save everyone. He counts Pietro among his greatest failures, and he has a pretty long list. Clint, too. Clint takes it even harder than Steve, I know. They had a kind of unique friendship, even when we were on opposing sides, and he had really grown fond of the kid. You know he named his newest son after him. Nathaniel Pietro." Natasha looks over at Wanda, touching her arm tenderly. "I know this will sound awful, but whenever an Avenger dies the whole team rallies and manages to fight better than before. Coulson, the man you met earlier? He had been the first Avenger casualty, and he inspired us to defeat Loki for the first time even though we were scattered and fighting amongst ourselves without your mind control. During the SHIELD fallout Fury died, and Steve and I took that very hard. We found to maintain his legacy—though it turns out he didn't actually die. When Pietro died it pushed you and the whole team to finish off Ultron and his minions."

"I didn't think he was going to die," Wanda admits. "It never occurred to me, not even once, but I'm glad it wasn't for nothing. He died a hero, something I will spend my whole life aspiring to do." She can't help but think about her conversation with Loki in the dream. He had basically told her she is destined to become a villain. A horrible fate, but she won't succumb to it. She'll fight it to her last breath. She's going to die a hero if it's the last thing she does (which is kinda implied by the whole "die a hero" thing, but that's beside the point).

Natasha stands, extending an arm out to Wanda. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You've already achieved hero status. Now let's go add some more to your resume."

Wanda sighs, hesitantly taking her hand and allowing her to help her stand up. She looks the spy dead in the eyes. "You what the saddest part about this whole thing is?"

Natasha shakes her head, and Wanda continues. "I spent all that time showing you and the others their worst fears when in the end mine were the ones that came true."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! Competitive swim season started last Wednesday for me, so my schedule is packed. I made up for it by making an extra long chapter :) I just everyone to know that MODOK in this story is AU, so he will have many differences than from the comic version. Also the Cube has some powers that I do not know if it really has, but once again it is AU. Enjoy :)

Chapter 8

MODOK is staring into the Cube, his eyes glowing blue with power. They light up as he looks, and it seems as though he's seeing everything.

"It's a shame not everyone can see what I'm seeing," he says. "The truths this thing is revealing to me—it's so out of this world!" He laughs as if his pun had been original and amazing, and Steve and Sharon share equal looks that say "this is ridiculous".

He immerses himself back into the Cube, and when he finally turns back to them there is a triumphant smile on his distorted face. "Well," he declares, "I can finally be rid of you." He laughs at their confused faces. "This Cube has unlimited power and it can show me anything. This time it showed me that your little Avenger friends are on their way to rescue you. Too bad you won't be here to see them."

He motions to the guards. "Watch the doors. I'm going to use them to test our new powers. Now that we don't need our bait anymore, we can put them to a more worthy use. After all, experimentation is important to move forward. Right, Captain Rogers?" Steve narrows his eyes at the machine of a man, but it does nothing.

The guards move to the doors, and MODOK approaches, holding the Cube tightly in one hand. "You know, it is a little bit of a shame that your friend Clint is leaving his family behind for good. I do pity his wife and children a little."

Steve feels rage well up in him. Barton is coming, too? If he's killed then what will Laura and the kids do? How could anyone kill a man with duties to a family?

"You're the most detestable person I've ever faced," Sharon snaps. "And that's saying a lot."

MODOK laughs, and Steve feels shivers run up his spine. The thing in front of him isn't even a man; it's completely computer. A lot like Ultron, but worse. "Is that so?" said computer asks.

"The bad guys never win," Steve adds. "Trust me. I've been around long enough to know. Give it up now, and we won't have to kill you."

"Kill me?" MODOK throws back his humongous head and laughs harder than he has yet. _Insane men really do laugh a lot,_ Steve thinks. "I'd like to see you try."

"People are going to get hurt, and I can't let that happen. I've never faced a bully and ran from them; don't think you're any different."

"Who's being the bully now?" MODOK taunts, putting a pouty face on. "You know, I expected more from Captain America. You're kind of a pansy."

"He's more a man than you could ever wish to be," Sharon shoots back. "Just give it up, MODOK. You've bitten off more than you can chew."

"Don't sass me, young lady," MODOK warns, instantly becoming completely serious. "You're life is in my hands. Literally." He shakes the Cube at them as if to remind them of his power.

"You're going to kill us anyway. I have nothing to lose." Sharon stares him down, and Steve has to admit he's impressed by her bravery.

"You're a fireball, aren't you?" MODOK walks closer, and he moves his eyes from them to the Cube, drinking in its blue power. "I'm almost sorry to kill you. You would have been a valuable asset. Are you sure you don't want to join me?"

Sharon glares at MODOK, which he takes as a no. His eyes widen as he stares into the Cube, and then his body shakes a little. He's literally glowing blue, and Steve knows this isn't a good sign.

"Any escape ideas?" Sharon asks. "You _are_ the star spangled man with a plan."

"Seriously," Steve sighs, "for the last time! I didn't make up that name for myself!"

The whole room starts shaking, and tendrils of blue power start shooting out of the Cube. A few stray ones hit Sharon and she cries out in pain; when they recede Steve sees scorch marks on her skin and blisters.

"Now would be a great time!" she yells, just as the tendrils grow in power and they start aiming towards the two agents. Steve rolls to the side as much as he can to avoid one, only to get hit by another.

The whole room is shaking when suddenly the doors are blown open. Machine gun fire is everywhere, and Steve and Sharon curl up to present a smaller target.

One of the bullets hits MODOK and he breaks eye contact with the Cube, causing the room to stop shaking and the Cube to stop emitting the blue power. However, MODOK becomes extremely enraged.

"What is this?!" he roars in anger. In answer several dozen agents in AIM uniforms with weapons stream into the room, clashing with MODOK and his guards. One of the agents tosses a gun towards Steve and Sharon and between the two of them they manage to fire through the chains. Steve instantly races to the other side of the room where his shield is laying against the wall, a would-be trophy.

Sharon picks up a gun from a fallen agent and together she and Steve fight their way out. More of MODOK's men are coming down the hall but so are more rebellious ones. They clash, and Steve and Sharon are right in the middle of it all.

They fight back to back, Steve using his hand-to-hand combat skills and Sharon using her pilfered gun. "If it's any consolation," she yells as she fights, "I'm sorry I drugged you!"

She grabs a man's wrist and flips him over, kicking him unconscious once he hits the floor. Steve throws his shield and it bounces across three men's throats before returning to his hand.

"Is now really the time?" he returns, sweeping his leg under a charging man and punching another.

"No time like the present," Sharon replies, calmly firing a few rounds into a cluster of oncoming men. They scatter, making way for more men coming up.

"Right." Steve whirls and puts his shield in front of her with one arm to protect her from some oncoming fire while kicking a man away behind her back. Sharon ducks under the shield and fires at the agent's legs, successfully stopping their charge.

"Let's get out of here!" he suggests, and they start running down the hall and to the stairs. They encounter a few men as they go along, but between the two of them it doesn't take much work.

They emerge onto the bottom floor, and facing them is at least two dozen with automatic weapons, all aimed straight at the duo. They turn back to the stairs but more agents are covering up that exit, too.

"It was nice knowing you," Sharon says, switching out her clip and hoisting her gun up.

"You too," Steve agrees, adjusting his shield strap on his left arm. The two of them wordlessly charge right into the death trap.

* * *

Natasha pilots the quinjet, Clint seated in the co-pilots chair beside her. Stark is flying in his suit next to the jet along with Rhodey and Sam, and Wanda and Vision are the only two others in the SHIELD aircraft.

As they fly Clint turns his seat and converses with the telepath. Natasha can almost hear the regret and sadness in his voice as he asks how she's been.

"As well as can be expected," she replies.

"Nathaniel Pietro's been doing well," Clint adds. "He's just said his first word. It's 'run'."

Wanda smiles a bit. "I'll have to meet him after this is all over."

Clint nods. "Definitely. The other kids have been wanting to meet you, too. I told them all about you and your brother. I think they like you more than they like Cap."

Wanda laughs a little, the first time since...well, since she can ever remember. "I highly doubt that," she says.

Natasha jumps in this time. "I wouldn't sell yourself short," she says. "They're making crayon art of you guys, and that shows true devotion."

Vision looks confused next to Wanda. "Crayon art? What are crayons?"

The other three look at each other and suddenly burst out laughing, despite the situation. Vision is even more hopeless when it comes to wordly things than Steve and Thor combined, and the fact that he doesn't know what crayons are...

"You're coming over, too," Clint orders. "Hell, might as well invite all the Avengers over now. We can have a sleepover or something fun like that."

"All of SHIELD," Natasha corrects. "Fury and Hill probably want in, too."

"Too bad Coulson's not here anymore," Clint remarks. "He'd want in, too. Probably he'd make Steve fan art."

Natasha smiles, though she knows Clint doesn't know about Phil's resurrection, though Clint is spot on; Phil literally worshipped Captain America.

"Having a party in there without me?" Tony asks over the coms. "I see how it is."

"That's what you get by flying everywhere," Barton shoots back. "Okay, so let's go over the mission objectives again. We get in, we contain this weird experimenty guy and we try and keep the AIM agents' casualties as low as possible. After we try and find Steve."

"It's not going to be easy," Rhodey reminds them all. "This is a power hungry guy with a powerful piece of alien technology."

"Been there, done that. Almost died, but I didn't." Tony fake-yawns. "This is going to be a piece of cake." Right. If only. If this is going to be a piece of cake then Steve would never have left them in the first place. If this is going to be a piece of cake then Steve would have already neutralized the threat and would be back with his team. If this is going to be a piece of cake then Natasha's team wouldn't need Stark and Barton.

"ETA in five minutes," Clint says. "Strap in, folks. Everything's about to get real."

Natasha adjusts her catsuit. "I'm ready."

Wanda closes her eyes and breathes deeply, mentally preparing herself. She opens her eyes, and they're red, just like her energy hexes. "I'm ready."

Vision brushes non-existent crumbs off of himself, a habit he mysteriously started a while back. "Ready. Though I don't know why it's necessary I say I am."

Tony fires up his lifters, looping around the quinjet. "Ready...to be done."

Rhodey fires a repulsor beam into the sky. "I'm ready."

Sam adjusts his goggles. "Ready as ever."

Suddenly the quinjet is thrown into a fit of turbulence. On of the engines lights up on fire. "Guess we're not ready," Clint says, struggling with the controls. By his side Natasha is doing the same. "What was that? Stark? Rhodey?"

"A type of anti-aircraft weaponry," Stark replies. "I suggest you bail now and go the rest of the way by flight."

"There's plenty of us who can fly," Sam agrees. In response Natasha pulls herself out of her seat on the flailing aircraft and heads out the back. Wanda and Vision follow, curious to what she's about to do.

Natasha opens the cargo hold and strides down the ramp confidently. The wind is blowing her hair around and whipping it into her face hard. Suddenly she jumps, yelling, "Stark! Rhodes!"

Tony swears as he swoops in, catching her. "A little warning next time," he replies, slowing down his suit.

"You came up with the idea," Natasha counters, fixing her hair and checking her own personal arsenal.

Sam flies over to the cargo hold, and he picks up Wanda (she's still working on her flying. So far she's able to levitate for indefinite periods of time). Vision flies off on his own, and Rhodey sweeps back to get Clint out of the dying quinjet. Weighed down slightly by their burdens, the Avengers descent on the AIM compound.

The flying members of the team drop the ground Avengers at the front gates while the others fly up to the higher levels and start there. With any luck they'll meet in the middle, each doing as clean a sweep as they can.

Natasha turns on her widow's bites as they crash through the front door. Clint has his bow out and ready, and Wanda flanks them, her fingers curled and ready. Inside the ground level there are people huddled under their cubicles and desks, all looking fearfully at the Avengers and at the group of soldiers facing the opposite way, their guns trained on someone else. Suddenly they start firing, and Natasha catches a glimpse of a familiar round shield.

"That's Steve!" she cries, a weight lifted off of her. Some of the soldiers turn and concentrate on the new threat, but most are still attacking the separate Avenger. "Wanda!" Natasha yells. The girl nods and head that way to assist Steve, rapidly taking men out with her red wisps of power.

Clint fires arrow after arrow, and when he runs out he pulls out a long knife and sets to work. Though his preferred weapon is the bow he's proficient in pretty much every weapon, as every assassin should be.

Natasha herself is like a deadly ballet dancer. She twirls, each graceful swing bringing death upon someone new. Her focus is on point; her motivation lays in front of her. She has to make it to Steve. She hasn't come all this way just to lose him again.

The crowd of agents begins to thin as the Avenger's work is finally showing results. Natasha finds herself suddenly facing off a familiar blonde haired girl.

"Agent Thirteen?" she asks, incredulous, though she doesn't let her guard down. It's possible the agent is a double agent working for AIM, and if that's the case, Natasha will have to take her out.

"I'm with the captain," she replies, firing at a man behind her without even glancing his way. "I'll explain later." Then she's gone, an enemy agent taking her place. Natasha shakes away her surprise and continues slashing and stabbing and punching and basically using everything she's ever learned.

Finally all the agents on the ground floor are lying motionless. Natasha looks around widly for her missing friend. She doesn't see him. There's Wanda, and Clint, and even Sharon, but no Steve.

"Where is he?" she cries, letting all her emotions out. The others look at her in alarm, coming to the conclusion that Steve is, in fact, missing. Either that or he's lying on the pile of bodies somewhere.

Then she sees him. He's stumbling to his feet, holding his side as he limps forward. His shield is hooked onto his back, and his face is covered in blood. That doesn't deter Natasha one bit. She runs forward, slowing only when she's right in front of him.

"Steve?" her voice is soft, softer than ever.

"Nat," he replies, breaking out into a smile. Suddenly her body's in charge and her hands hold both sides of his face as she leans up and kisses him. This time it isn't a kiss to hide from HYDRA or the STRIKE time. This time it's a genuine kiss, and she releases all her pent up emotions, her stress, her pain, her relief; everything goes into it. It's longer than she thinks it will be, but she enjoys every second of it.

Steve smiles down at her when she pulls away, but then she sees the flightiest of winces pass over his face and she looks down at his side. There's blood everywhere, still seeping out despite his hand there trying to stem it. Even as she watches Steve is unsteady on his feet.

Natasha puts a hand to her earpiece. "I need some flight backup right now. Cap's hurt, and we need to get out of here. We need a better plan."

There's a crash over the coms and Rhodey replies, "On our way!"

A few painful seconds go by before the iron-clad avengers fly in. Sam and Vision are not far behind them, and between the four they each pick up on of the other Avengers, whisking them away from the AIM building.

"Where to, Cap?" Tony asks, the head of the "flock".

"Safe house a few miles up ahead," Steve replies, though he sounds hard of breath. This isn't good.

"Hang in there, Cap," Sam says over the com as they fly off.

* * *

MODOK looks at the blood on his hands in anger. How dare they come in and try to take the Cube away from him? How dare they get away? They'd been flying around and around so fast he hadn't had time to use the Cube against them, but they also hadn't been able to severly harm him, either.

Still, they had rescued Captain America and the double agent, both of whom were MODOK's prizes. And he knows who is responsible.

"Bring them in," he orders of his guards. They manhandle a few dozen agents into the room and through them on the floor hard, guns trained at their heads. These are the mutinous men who helped aid the Avenger's escape, and they will pay the price of their crimes.

"Let's see what you really can do," he whispers to the Cube, staring into it and drawing power out from it. The blue tendrils start to fly out, growing in intensity until they lock targets. Then they shoot out in a flurry of sparks and hit each kneeling man, leaving nothing but scorch marks in their wake.

Once all the traitors are dead MODOK smiles. He returns his gaze to his loyal guards. "Send out the message that all, and any, possible spies are to be executed on sight. If they so much as bad-talk me they are to be exterminated, also. There can be no doubt that I am the Scientist Supreme, and even the Avengers run from me in fear."

The guards salute and leave quickly, and MODOK sits down heavily, returning his glance back to the Cube. "Show me what will happen next," he whispers possessively. "Show me how to kill the Avengers. Show me everything."

The Cube complies.

* * *

Steve is passed out on the couch of the safe house, his injured side bandaged up and stitched. He looks so peaceful laying there that Natasha almost forgets he's a soldier, and without his timeless blue eyes to show the depths of his suffering he looks years younger.

Everyone else is resting, eating, or showering. In the distance Natasha can hear Stark bang away at his suit. He's most likely in the garage. The others are scattered, leaving Natasha alone with Steve. She appreciates the gesture, and for once she appreciates the silence.

Despite her battle wounds and the blood she hasn't taken the time to clean off her skin, she feels cleaner than ever. Her soul itself feels pure, as if she's managed to shake off the darkness inside for once. She feels lighter, and when she looks around the world itself seems like a better place. It seems like a place of miracles, not a place of death and destruction and lust and greed and ruin.

There's no explanation for the sudden change, but she supposes it has something to do with her and Steve. Finally admitting she loves him—that took a lot of courage. She isn't just exposing her weaknesses to the others and to Steve, she's exposing them to herself. Natasha has spent her whole life learning to kill, to murder, and to use her body to get what she wants. Deep down she never defined herself, but she knew that she hated whatever part of her actually was her.

Now, though, it's like she's starting to love herself. By allowing herself to feel the way it wants to feel it's like she's liberating the darkness and allowing it to leave. There'll always be shadows in her life, shadows deep inside, but they aren't abysses of everything bad and dark.

Loving Steve has changed who she is, and she likes the new change. It's like seeing the world in color after living in a world of black and white.

One of the reasons she never let herself admit that she liked him is because she didn't believe she deserved to be loved. She's a spy, a killer, and Steve is the personification of everything right and moral and good. But he slowly brought out the good in her, and every day he shows it. Eventually it has liberated her, and now she feels like she deserves to have a good life.

Maybe she can never have a family, even if she hadn't been sterilized, but she can have Steve. She can have a brighter future, and maybe people will remember her as someone who saves people instead of the person she used to be. Maybe little kids will look up to her and say, "She's my hero! I wish I could be like her!"

She has changed, and Steve is the one who shows her that. He always has faith in her, and he always trusts her. He never would have left them he hadn't thought she could handle being the team leader.

Natasha moves over to the couch and gently picks up his head and shoulders enough to slide under, repositioning his sleeping form on her lap. Once he sleeps he sleeps deeply, and the transition doesn't disturb him in the least.

She runs her hands through his already-messy blond hair, leaning back and just enjoying the moment. She knows it won't last; they're only in the eye of the storm, the calm moment in between the torrents of craziness and danger, but she's going to enjoy it while she can.

He's so warm, always so warm, something she remembers from the time they had been fugitives. Everything about him is inviting and warm and kind, reflecting his personality. If she hasn't seen him fight before she'd say he is a teddy bear or a golden retriever puppy; so innocent and sweet and kind.

Steve is the kind of person who will help elderly people cross streets; he's the kind of person that will always say yes when a neighbour asks him to watch their dog while they're on vacation or mow their lawn; he's the type of person who feels bad about going a touch over the speed limit; and he's the type of man who takes no handouts. But he's also the type of man to challenge any bully; he's the kind of guy that always gets up after being beaten down and injured; he's the man who can be fierce and firm while in a great battle.

He always sees the best in people, and that's why Natasha loves him, and that's how he can love her back. They've been through a lot together, and the hardships have only grown them closer.

Steve cares for people deeply, and he always gives second, third, fourth, infinite chances. When his friend had been brainwashed and turned into an assassin Steve had fought him only when necessary to save the world, then had promptly given up; Bucky is like a brother to him, and despite what damage he inflicted on Steve the soldier will never give up on him. When the Maximoff twins had inflicted emotional damage on the team, tearing them apart from the inside, he had allowed them to join the team to fight a greater evil, even tearing himself apart inside when the older twin had sacrificed his life to save Barton's and a young boy's; Steve hates not being able to save everyone. And even Natasha, who has done unspeakable evil in her day, has been granted several chances by him. She even scorned him and went for another man, and yet he's still welcoming her into his arms.

The road hasn't been easy, it's never easy when you're an Avenger, but he still remains kind and compassionate. Natasha doesn't know how he does it, but she knows it's rubbing off on her.

Under her, Steve is beginning to stir. His eyes blink before finally opening, and he looks up at her and smiles. He's smiling because he sees me, she thinks to herself. No one has ever done that before.

The soldier sits up, staying close to her. She watches him the whole time, unsure of what he will say. Everything happened so fast at the AIM base, and everything continues to happen so fast. Will he be upset that she made a move so quickly? Will he be happy?

Worse of all, will he be indifferent?

He doesn't allude to it at all in his first remark, which surprises her. "You haven't cleaned up yet, or even changed."

"I was...waiting for you," she replies. He smiles a little, looking down.

"You should have cleaned up." He takes her hand in his, gently turning it over and looking at it intently. "You need to get your injuries checked out."

"They're just scratches," she dismisses, but he frowns. He isn't frowning because she refused to clean up; she knows him better than that. He's frowning because something major is weighing on his mind. Some burden is dragging him down. And Natasha has something to do with it.

"I'm sorry I left you behind." His words are quiet, yet they carry a huge weight. Natasha knows why; abandoning his team right before a big battle goes against everything he's ever stood for or believed in.

"You made the right call," Natasha insists, putting her other hand on top of their entwined ones. "Now you have insider information that we can use to help us defeat him."

"I left you," he says quietly. "I left you like Banner left. Like Clint left. Like everyone else has left."

Natasha suddenly feels a hole in her heart, his words sad because of how loving and considerate they are. He's been beating himself up a lot about this, she can tell.

"The difference is that you came back." He looks up, and the deep blue of his eyes instantly makes her lose herself in them for a moment. His eyes are just like the ocean, deep and powerful and full of secrets and mysteries and untold stories. "Never once did I fear you had left me for good. I know you left to protect me, and to protect the team. I knew you would return. You always do."

He looks down again, and she sees his eyes cloud over. "Not always." It comes out a whisper. He's referring to Peggy, of course, and how he left her. But he had returned to her; years later, yes, but he had still returned.

"That wasn't your fault. You sacrificed your life to save innocent lives, and I know she would rather lose you than bear the weight of those lives on her conscience. Trust me, I know." Natasha wraps an arm around his neck, drawing him in closer. "Don't beat yourself up about. Not now."

"The vision Wanda showed me in that bar was of what would have happened had I met Peggy back in the forties," Steve admits. "We danced, we kissed...we were happy. That's why I couldn't move on; I always imagined Peggy going through life as sad and unhappy as I've been, and I realize that's not the truth. Peggy lives a good, happy life. Once I realised that…once I figured it out I have been able to move on. I'm not sure how we will work, how we will ever work, but I know that I love you, and that nothing in this world can ever take me away from you again."

A tear falls down her cheek before Natasha even realizes it has welled up. The way he talks about her, like she's the only one in the world, like she's the most important one to ever exist...it touches her in a way she never thought words could. The emotions she's finally letting herself feel…it's like she's awaking for the first time.

He leans down and kisses her, and this time it's not a hurried kiss created out of relief and stress. This time it's one that's sweet and made from love. Natasha has had a great many kisses in her life, but none of them have ever come close to being this nice, this sweet.

They pull apart and Natasha leans up again, but he stops her gently. "Not until you've cleaned up and tended to your injuries."

She shoots him a look as she stands. "Fine then, Captain." He smiles as she walks out of the living room, and as soon as he's out of sight she lets herself smile too. Maybe she can finally look towards a better life.

If they survive the battle against MODOK, of course.

* * *

Wanda wanders into the safe house living room once she knows Natasha left to clean up. There's a lot she's been meaning to say to the captain, and now might be the only time she gets. This whole battle looming in the near future...it has made her prioritize things. And it has brought back old memories that she needs to confide with someone. And right now, Steve is that someone.

"Captain Rogers?" she calls uncertainly. Although she's been meaning to talk to him it doesn't mean she's not nervous. Wanda tends to be pretty shy at times, even around people that she's lived with and trained with for months.

"Wanda," Steve acknowloges, beckoning her forward. "I've been waiting for you to come talk to me."

She nods and sits down on the couch across from him. Her hair is down, the dark strands straight and covering part of her face. It's better this way for her to have something to hide behind. She used to hide behind Pietro, but now he is gone and she's left to fend for herself.

"Something's been bothering you," Steve says, breaking the tense silence. "What's up?"

"I talked to Natasha," she replies hesitantly. "But she doesn't understand what it is like losing what means the most to you. She doesn't understand how I feel. But you do."

Steve swallows and looks down. "Bucky was my brother. In every way except blood, that is. We had a bond that went farther than love. Losing him...it changed me. If you really loved them then their loss should change you. Before he fell I didn't want to kill people. Kinda ironic - I joined the army but didn't want to kill people. It wasn't me. I just don't like bullies. But after he died...something changed. I became more willing to do whatever it would take in order to save the rest of my friends and the world. And sometimes that meant killing."

Wanda nods a little. "Ultron was the first person - thing - that I ever killed. Stark's bomb may have taught me how to truly hate but it also taught me that life is only precious because it is so short and can end at any time. I spent years terrified that my brother would be taken away from me. After we let HYDRA experiment on us things changed. I didn't worry so much that he would die because he could protect himself. Both of us swore an oath that we wouldn't kill anyone besides the Avengers. We justified your deaths because Stark is responsible for our parent's deaths. It made sense. The hate and bitterness stored up inside us may have actually took us that far. But things changed once again, and we realised Ultron was the cause. I still didn't plan on killing him, but after my brother died...something in me changed. My own life was not precious to me because I didn't have anything to live for, and that changed my views on other people's lives. If I didn't care for my own life then why should they care for theirs?"

Steve sighs. "You know something about the Cube, don't you?" he asks gently.

"I know that the Cube is the most powerful object in the universe and that it might have the power to bring him back," Wanda replies. "I'm just not sure if I should." She can't help but think of what Loki told her in her dream - that she is relieved by Pietro's death because she is independent now. She also thinks of how her life might change with him back in it. What if he doesn't agree with her life choices? What if he wants to separate from the Avengers? They are her family now, and she doesn't know if she can just up and leave them, even if it is with her brother.

What if what she brings back isn't entirely her brother?

"Don't," Steve says, looking her straight in the eye. "Don't even think about that. Nothing can bring him back. He's gone, and we have to accept that. I miss him, too, and I know what it is like to miss someone, but you shouldn't bring him back."

"Your Bucky is back," Wanda retaliates, though not harshly. "Why can't I bring my Pietro back?"

"Because Bucky never really died," Steve replies. "I only thought he did. And even if he had died what came back wasn't him. Deep down there are pieces of my Bucky, but it's buried beneath the cold, heartless shell of the Winter Soldier. Maybe one day I'll get enough of him back, but he will never be the same. I will never be the same." His voice lowers. "Sometimes I wish he hadn't survived. It would have been better for him to have died."

Wanda can see years of sadness in the soldier's eyes. She could never guess how old he is; his eyes are thousands of years older than his body, and both have carried the burdens of grief and anger and war and all emotions except for joy. He's missing that one important emotion. Even Wanda, with her horrible past and hard life, has felt joy. Steve, on the other hand...

 _Even when I had nothing I had Bucky._ His thoughts are clear to her, and she can relate. Her whole life she's always had Pietro, even when everything and everyone else was gone, she still had him. Now both Steve and her are struggling in a lonely world without their other halves.

"You're right," Wanda agrees. "The Cube probably doesn't even have that power. It was a false hope. If his fate was to die then there is no power in this world that can change it."

She stands up to leave, but Steve follows her and grabs her arm gently. "Hey," he says, catching her gaze. "If there is a way, then you make the choice. I trust you, and I trust you'll make the right decision for you. Just know that I am with you through all of this. If you ever need to talk again, then I'm here."

"Thank you," Wanda answers. "I appreciate it very much. And if there's anything I can do to help your friend, then know I will."

With that she left, knowing deep in her heart that tomorrow would be the most trying day of her life.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I hope you still enjoy it :) I may have gotten a little carried away with my JARVIS feelings, though. :3

Chapter 9

"So this MODOK guy is a psychopath murderer who wants the power from the Cube?" Tony clarifies. The whole team is sitting around the kitchen table, Steve and Sharon adding their information to the already existing pool. "But what does he want to do with it?"

Good question. Steve has been trying to think that through himself. MODOK seems to be content with simply being in power over AIM with the Cube, though his intentions can change at any moment, causing him to be a huge threat.

"For now he just wants power over AIM," Sharon says, mirroring Steve's thoughts. "It doesn't matter how big or small his ambitions are, though; he's killed innocent people, and he won't stop. The people at AIM just want to do their work - science, enigneering, mostly harmless things, but MODOK may try to force them to create harmful weapons."

"The Cube is too much power for any one man or even anyone here on Earth to have," Natasha adds. "I agree with her."

"But how do we defeat him?" Rhodey asks. "He's using the Cube to defend himself, and we're all powerless against a device that strong."

"Wrong. The gem in Vision's forehead," Tony answers. "I've done some research. It's an infinity stone, one of the most powerful objects in the universe. I think its power will balance out the power of the Cube. As long as Vision is in the vicinity I think we'll be equally matched."

"MODOK is an enhanced being," Steve reminds them. "Even without the Cube he's extremely intelligent and has great projection skills."

"Great projection skills for what?" Sam asks. "Don't tell me he's a psychic, too."

Sharon nods. "I suspect so, though he's been so obsessed with the Cube he hasn't really explored his own powers. Once we extract the Cube I think his anger will allow him to use them, though they will probably be sloppy and untrained. Wanda, you'll be our greatest asset in there."

"What if he is stronger than I?" she questions. A good question, indeed. If MODOK's mind powers are stronger than hers he can destroy her.

"Are there any fears of yours he can play against you?" Steve inquires. Instantly he sees her face fall and her eyes look down sadly.

"Not anymore," she replies, and the sorrow and grief laced into her voice is evident. "I see everything I fear everyday. I live my own worst nightmares."

Steve knows she's talking about her brother. He hasn't realised she still dreams about it or is still so upset by it that it consumes her. It makes him feel worse; he remembers coming upon Pietro's corpse and feeling the drop in his heart because he had been too late and there's nothing he could do to save the kid. There's nothing more that Steve hates then leaving a soldier behind.

"Then you're stronger than he is," Natasha says. "Everyone fears something, but if you know yours than he can't hurt you any more than you're already hurting."

"So we're going to lay siege on this base. War Machine, Falcon, and I will cover the outside and the exits, taking out the bad guys and making sure the civilians get out safely," Tony confirms, interrupting the whole touchy-feely mood and leaning back. "Wanda and Vision will confront MODOK. What are the rest of you doing?"

Steve takes charge now; this is his area of expertise. "Natasha, Barton and Sharon will be evacuating civilians from the building. I'll aid Wanda and Vision. Once all the civilians are out then you three can join us. Getting people out safely is our first priority."

"Just keep in mind that MODOK will aim to kill, and he will use everything against you that he can," Natasha adds. "We'll have to be precise. Wanda, you'll have to work quickly."

Wanda nods. "I can handle him. I have nothing to lose."

"I will be sure to stay in the same room," Vision puts in. "I'll assist in any way that I can."

"Everyone will get out safely," Clint vows. "We're not losing anyone this time."

Wanda shoots him a grateful look, one that words cannot describe. The rest of the team breaths deeply, no one wanting to move. This can be the end, whether they want to admit it or not. Fighting armies of robots is easy; you don't feel bad about killing them, and their strength comes in numbers. Humans are harder to kill, and in this case MODOK is brilliant, not to mention insanely powerful.

"Let's go." Tony is the one to break the silence, unsurprisingly. "Might as well get it over with. I have a date with Pepper tonight, and I don't want to miss it."

* * *

Clint watches Wanda the whole meeting, barely paying attention. He's been a spy long enough to recognize the emotions passing through her; she's slumped in her seat, a sign of defeat. She's given up on some internal battle. Her eyes never make contact with anyone; she's trying to hide, to blend in. She doesn't want to attract attention. Her hands lay motionless in her lap; she's not nervous, she's simply...bland. Everything she does is half-hearted and meaningless.

She has no life in her anymore; it's simply sucked away.

Clint has not known her long, but even when she had been blaming herself for Ultron's rise to power she had more life in her. He remembered her fear during the battle, then her eventual fighting frenzy; she had been calm and collected while still expelling her anger out on the robots. Her eyes had been a warm brown color, and Barton had seen the way she and her brother acted around each other; reassuring looks traded; small, comforting touches; words of love and encouragement and promises given.

Now all that is gone, and the girl he once knew is gone with it. Her eyes are dull, as if most of the color has been drained out; she doesn't look anyone even close to the eye; she keeps to herself and doesn't make any contact; she barely speaks.

Losing her brother had destroyed her, and Clint feels horrible about it. And, in a way, he feels responsible for it. He had grown fond of Pietro, even when they were on opposing sides; the boy had done his job enough to complete it but without actually hurting any of them seriously, and he had traded light jokes with Barton while doing it. When they had been on the same side Pietro showed courage that the archer respected, and near the end Pietro had sacrificed his life to save that of Barton's and the little boy's.

In making that choice Pietro hadn't only given away his life, he'd also given Wanda's away too; it doesn't take a specialist to see that she's just a walking and talking body. Inside there is nothing. She's completely empty.

Her words are hollow, even when supported with emotions, and she walks silently like a ghost. She disappears, fades into the background to the point where people forget she ever existed unless they need her or unless she talks. Even then they quickly forget about her. It isn't right, especially because his first impression of her had been a powerful young woman whose looks and authority practically demand attention, even if she's simply standing. Now, though, all that confidence is gone.

Barton owes her and her brother his life, yet she's not even really there. She's like an old memory, put away and floating around aimlessly. If the Avengers are a tide then she's a stick, floating around until she finally is beached for good.

He had seen a little flash of light in her eyes when he invited her over for dinner, and he wonders if anyone has had the courteousy to specially single her out in an everyday situation. He can see why maybe Steve and Natasha overlook her; they're busy being leaders and developing their relationship, and the others are busy experimenting with their powers, but Clint can never forget any Maximoff even if he tries.

Every time he looks at his children or his wife he sees them, sees Pietro lying on the ground, riddled with the bullets that should have hit him instead. He sees Wanda crying out in pain as she falls to her knees, her whole world literally falling down around her. He hears her ragged screams in his sleep; the screams of someone who has lost everything and everyone.

That should have been his family crying because they've lost everyone. Those screams should belong to Laura. But because Pietro made the ultimate sacrifice his family had been spared. And there's nothing Clint can do to repay a debt like that.

So when Wanda admitted she has nothing left to lose and no fears anymore, it hit Clint like a punch straight to his heart. Here he has been living with his loving family, enjoying every second of their warm hugs and smiles and kisses, and she's been reliving the death of the only person in the world who has ever mattered. Here he has been living in paradise while she's been living in hell.

Worst of all, there's nothing Clint can do to help her. He's completely helpless and useless.

* * *

Natasha hits the ground hard, rolling to compensate and even out the impact. She lands in a crouch, guns raised and at the ready. Beside her is Clint, his arrows fully restocked and his knives replaced. On her other side is Sharon, two handguns clutched in her tight grip. Although Natasha has never worked with Sharon before, she has heard all sorts of things. Sharon has a legacy almost as equal as Peggy's.

"I'll head right," Sharon volunteers as they enter the building. Clint takes left, so Natasha heads straight.

It's only been a few hours since they were last here but already the bodies have been moved and some of the cubicles cleaned up. Guards are everywhere, and Natasha can already hear Sharon and Clint engaging their opponents.

Frightened scientists and engineers sit at desks, covering their heads or looking around wildly in fear. Natasha starts yanking their chairs out and yelling at them to run, to get away. Some of them follow her advice while others curl up in a ball at the floor. She has to remind herself to be patient because they're normal people whose lives have suddenly been uprooting and ripped apart.

A few guards jump her, but she calmly fires shot after shot into their chests or legs, disabling them and pushing them off of her. She returns one gun to her catsuit and holds the other out defensively, scanning the room for more threats.

It's hard to see, since half of the overhead lights were knocked out in the initial attack. The remaining ones flicker weakly, and she almost doesn't see the man come out of the shadows and towards her.

She catches his wrist and tries to use his momentum against him, but he's strong, much stronger than the average man. He sweeps a leg under her feet and she barely jumps in time to avoid face-planting. He pushes her off-balance and tries to wrench her gun from her hand but she shoots, hitting him in his thigh. He growls in pain and retaliates, grabbing her other arm and twisting it behind her back painfully, drawing her close to him. She throws her head back, smashing it against his, and his grip loosens. She whirls around and trades blows with him, dropping her gun and kicking it away so he can't get it. At this point she'll fight better with her body.

She kicks between his legs and quickly follows it up with a kick to his stomach, pushing him backwards. He growls again and runs straight at her. She moves to the side at the last second, but not before he manages to kick her knee cap, weakening her leg position.

Natasha stumbles forwards a step before twirling to face him again. He jumps in the air, unnaturally high, and grabs her shoulders as he flips, throwing her to the ground hard when he lands. She groans in pain but manages to roll to the side as his fist comes down, smashing the floor where her head had just been. She reaches into her suit and pulls out a knife, driving it into the center of his hand hard enough to stick him to the floor and long enough for her to regain her footing.

He rips his hand up and pulls the knife out slowly, glaring at her the whole time. She crouches down, ready for whatever trick he might use next. He slides along the floor speedily, grabbing her leg and pulling her down again, this time having her land on her side. She feels her ribs cry out in a sharp pain, and she knows she cracked at least one of them.

This has happened before, though, so she gets back up, clenching her teeth through the fiery pain. He throws the knife, deadly accurate, but she arches to the side and it barely grazes her. Natasha throws herself back into the fray and they trade blows for a little while longer.

Suddenly he grabs her hair and rips downward, and she cries out for the first time. _Not fair_ , she thinks, and she flips upward, wrapping her legs around his waist and flicking the switch so her widow's bites turn on right as she rams them into his shoulders. He spasms and then goes still, knocked out cold.

She turns back to the men hiding in the cubicles, some of whom have just watched her take out an enhanced man, and when she orders them to start heading outside they follow her directions without hesitating. She moves on, taking out the next few men without a hitch. Her breathing is beginning to become difficult, however, and she rests her hands on her knees for a few precious seconds while she catches up enough air.

Clint and Sharon have finished up their sections, and the ground floor has been completely evacuated. They meet up and start sprinting up the stairwell, heading towards the second floor.

As they run, Natasha notices Sharon has a large gash across her stomach and several bruises and grazes. Her hair has some blood in it from a wound along her scalp. Clint has a slight limp and a bleeding cut above his eye, though he still has most of his arrows left.

"How many levels are there in this building again?" he huffs as they run.

"Five, I think." Clint sighs audibly at Sharon's estimate.

"I'm getting too old for this. Avengers can retire early, right?"

* * *

Tony finds out the hard way that AIM has an entire armada of quinjets, fighting planes, and other aircraft that looks like it came straight out of _Star Wars._

"Falcon!" Tony yells into the com. "Watch the evacuees. Rhodey, get over here with me!"

War Machine comes racing over, and together the two of them face the huge fleet of planes bred specifically for war.

"There's got to be dozens of dozens," Rhodey assess. "This can take hours."

"Let's just hope we can hold them off long enough for Psychic in there to take out Psycho Psychic," Tony replies, and he preps his suit for battle. "FRIDAY, save some energy for a last hurray, otherwise divert it all into weapons and acceleration."

"At once, sir." As much as Tony likes FRIDAY, he still misses JARVIS. He shouldn't miss a computer system so much, but J has been his greatest success, the closest thing to a friend Tony has ever had, and the only person who can take his crap without tiring. JARVIS always had a snarky comment to shoot back, a sarcastic reply to retaliate with, or a clever pun to put a smile on Tony's face when everything seemed to go wrong. And, over time, JARVIS had started developing more human qualities. Instead of saying, "My battery is depleted" he would say, "I'm tired." Instead of, "Miss Potts is arriving quickly" he would say, "Miss Potts is coming, and I think she's upset." And Tony would talk to him like a normal human in return. It had been all those little things, but they are all the little things that Tony misses, especially right now.

And hearing Vision talk in JARVIS' voice makes everything worse. JARVIS evaded Ultron, even though Ultron thought he had killed the A1, but in the end JARVIS did end up gone, sucked into being part of Vision. Tony likes Vision and thinks he's pretty sweet, but talking to him is hard. JARVIS' death hit Tony hard, and he felt horrible about it. There's a deep ache in him, a hole from a stupid A1 system that had somehow became his best friend.

One time after the occurrences of the Ultron project, Tony had been upgrading his suit. He'd called out, "J, get me some blueprints up", a request which had been met with only silence until FRIDAY finally said, "I can, sir." DUMMY, another machine of Tony's that had distinct human qualities, had lowered it's hand in solemn silence. Tony himself had dropped everything and leaned over his workshop table, gripping it hard so he didn't fall. The pain had just hit him suddenly, and though he had repeated to himself over and over, _JARVIS is just a computer, not a person_ it hadn't helped in the least.

Even Pepper seemed hurt by JARVIS' disappearance. She'd requested a schedule and when a woman's voice answered instead she had practically ran up to Tony, demanding what had happened to JARVIS. After Tony explained he saw her slump ever so slightly, and even she has been constantly making small comments about how much she misses the old A1.

Because that "old A1" isn't just an A1. JARVIS isn't just a computer system. JARVIS had become a person, one just as good as the man he had been named after. Tony has considered JARVIS his family, his friend, a part of himself. To see something like that just disappear is hard. Especially since it had been Tony's fault. He'd so desperately wanted his friend to have a body, to be _real_ , that he had inadvertently destroyed him. And now he has to live with the consequences.

But JARVIS isn't totally lost. Tony can hear traces of his sarcasm in Vision's words, even though the superhero may deny the similarities. And if JARVIS ever had been actually human in his mind, he would be happy that he's serving a greater purpose. Maybe that's how Tony can deal with the pain. He isn't sentimental, and he often denies feeling grief, but he gets through the empty echoes of the Stark Tower with positive thoughts of J.

"Tony!" Rhodey shouts, breaking through his thoughts. "Your eight o'clock!"

Stark turns, firing repulsor shots at the jet trying to sneak through. It falls, tiny burn marks frying the engine, and another one replaces it. Tony brings that one down, too.

He and War Machine whiz through the armada, unloading missiles from the shoulder and blasts from their palms. Despite the progress they're making it seems there are too many of them remaining.

"We can really use some of Vision's fire power," Stark mutters. "That gem could easily take these guys out."

"Wanda needs Vision," Rhodey reminds him. "Since when do you not appreciate a fight?" Since he had almost been responsible for the extinction of the human race. Since he had created a murder-bot. Since he had almost lost Pepper. Since he had lost JARVIS.

Tony doesn't reply. He continues flying loops around the quinjets and bringing them down one by one. Rhodey mirrors him, though slightly slower.

"After this battle I'm upgrading your suit," Tony insists, ducking to avoid a line of machine gun fire. He shoots away and relocates himself. "So, how's life with the Avengers now? Steve still have a stick up his butt?"

"Nah," Rhodey replies, taking out an aircraft that has been trailing Tony. "He's pretty cool, though I think most of it is due to Natasha. She has him wrapped around her finger."

"I bet she does." Tony drops suddenly, and two quinjets that had been firing at him from opposite directions suddenly explode, both of them hitting each other. Tony clears out of the way as their wreckage rains toward. "Remember that laser beam trick?"

Rhodey drops out of the sky in answer, and Tony orders FRIDAY to prep it. She does, and he ducks his head as she holds out his wrist. Red laser beams shoot out, tearing quinjets apart by the dozen. Tony stops the beam and lifts his head.

About sixty percent of the aircraft have been hit, and the remaining ones aren't as confident anymore. Rhodey flies back up and it's not too hard for them to strike against the remaining ones.

Then FRIDAY calls his attention, saying, "Miss Potts is on the phone. Do you want to answer?"

"Not really, no." Tony fires his palm repulsor, taking out another quinjet. "Put her on."

"Tony? Where are you?" Pepper doesn't sound frazzled or worried; after spending years with him she's become used to his inconsistent attendance.

"Just out," he replies. What she doesn't know won't kill her.

"Well, I had just been making plans for our date later tonight—you remember, right?"

"Of course. Who do you take me for?" He hears her _harrumph_ over the line.

"I'm not going to answer that. Anyway, I had been wondering how far out we're going. I have a business meeting in DC tomorrow, so I don't want to stay out too late." She pauses, and Tony hopes she doesn't hear the sounds of battle around him. Of course she does. "Tony? Are you out _fighting_?"

"Maybe. The Avengers just called me in for a little while," Tony explains. "It's not dangerous or anything, I mean, not with me here."

"Tony!" Along with her chiding tone is also a little worry and concern.

"I'll make it back in time, don't worry. And we're staying in the city, so we can hang out together for longer."

"Just promise me you'll come back," she orders. "Please."

Although Tony sighs, he's grateful for her concern. "I promise," he says. "Dinner at seven. I'll be there in one piece."

He hangs up, and right as the call ends a big blast knocks him backwards. He starts falling, despite his tries to restart his thrusters. "FRIDAY? What's going on?" he asks frantically.

"Energy at five percent, sir," she replies. "Do you want me to transfer it into the thrusters?"

Stark swears. "Save it for the landing." He switches on his com. "I'm out for a little while. Rhodey is still up there."

He continues to fall, slowing down only near the ground. He still hits it hard, his suit flickering and turning off.

* * *

Steve, Wanda, and Vision are dropped off on the third floor. They still have to fight their way up to the fifth, but between the two enhanced humans and one Andriod it shouldn't be too hard.

The civilian workers are mostly stationed on the first two floors, so the only people up here are the ones who are fighting against the Avengers. MODOK's loyal soldiers, of course.

Wanda's fingers curl up in anticipation. Vision looks around, and his cape flutters in the wind streaming through the broken window. Steve lifts his shield, glancing around the room. This room seems abandoned, though there are plenty of places for soldiers to hide amongst the rubble.

The three Avengers move forward cautiously, keeping their weapons out in front of them. Vision and Wanda flank Steve, for he has the shield. Wanda may be strong, but all it takes is one well-aimed bullet to slip under her radar and she's gone. Vision is different, and no one quite knows how powerful he is (and no one has been willing to put a bullet in him to see how resilient he is).

Just as Steve had suspected, there are agents hiding under the rubble. They pop up, guns blazing. Steve crouches with his shield in front of the two Avengers and himself, and the majority of the bullets bounce off harmlessly. On his right side Wanda is shooting out her red power, deflecting bullets and throwing men against the wall hard enough to knock them out. On his other side is vision, using the gem in his forehead to vaporize the rubble that the men are hiding behind.

The three of them work in tandem, pushing men away and basically stemming the threat. There are tons of men, though, and work takes a while.

The farther they move forward the harder it is to fight. Steve knows this is a good sign; it means they are approaching MODOK, and the man—or what remains of him—is worried about them. They are a threat to him.

As the fighting gets heavier Steve is forced to begin more physical hits. He throws his shield, letting it bounce off men, and when it's about to get away Wanda shoots a blast for it to bounce off and it returns to Steve's arm in time for him to hit a man in the chest with. He trips another guy and trades punches with one hand to another soldier.

Vision is using the gem to laser cut parts of the ceiling off, and the chunks fall on men, hard enough to hurt but not enough to kill (at least in most cases). Wanda is still throwing them against the walls and floor, but she's not tearing them apart. These are still good men, they're simply misguided.

A man approaches Steve, and he doesn't look like the average soldier. He's bulkier, for one, and his eyes are an unnatural pale yellow. Definetely an enhanced. Steve glances to his sides; Vision is trading blows with a crowd on his left, Wanda shooting red hexes to his right. He's all alone on this.

The man rushes forward, his arm swinging out to punch. Steve catches it and twists it with enough force to break a normal man's wrist, but this guy just follows the twist with his whole arm, striking his other hand into Steve's neck. He recoils, trying to catch his breath and letting go of the man. Steve breathes in deeply, then looks up at the man, anger evident in his eyes. If this guy is going to play dirty then Steve will just have to show him why he's Captain America.

Steve allows the man to make the first move again. This time he comes with a high kick. Steve deflects it with his hand and delivers a left hook to his jaw. The punch is so powerful that the man stumbles back, allowing Steve to continue an onslaught of punches, his shield now snapped onto his back. This is a fight his shield can sit out of.

Steve has the man pressed against the wall, his fist raised to deliver the last punch to knock him out. Then the man suddenly whips his left hand forward, and Steve doesn't react fast enough. He feels the blade enter into his side and feels the enormous amount of pain. Steve shudders and deals out the punch, feeling the blade slide back out of him.

A cough forces itself out of Steve and he feels something drip down his lip. Raising his finger to touch it he finds that it's sticky and dark red.

Wanda and Vision come up behind him, the rest of the men on the floor taken out. Steve quickly wipes the blood away before they see and points to the doorway. They break into the fifth floor, and then the real challenge starts.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: And now we get to my favourite chapter :) I think we'll have about two more chapters in this story (sorry about the late update, by the way) and then it will be over. Two notes about this chapter: 1) The whole power balancing thing between Vision's mind stone and the Cube is completely made up, so don't rely on that. It just works for what I need it for. 2) While I know the Cube can alter reality I'm not sure it can go back in time like it does in this chapter, but once again this is an AU story and it works for my purposes.

Chapter 10

Wanda throws out a blast from her hands immediately as they step through the staircase onto the fifth floor, assuming the amount of men will be more than Steve's shield can protect them against. Her hunch is right; the first line of men goes flying, hitting the second line and landing in groaning piles.

There are still dozens, way more than the three of them can handle without deliberately killing. Vision is getting to work, setting their guns on fire and crushing them under parts of the ceiling, and Steve is throwing his shield around and has pulled out his own gun, firing to injury, but there are just too many men. A distant corner of her mind wonders why the soldier has decided to use a gun, since that is very unlike him, but she can't afford to dwell on it.

Wanda retreats behind Steve and calls for any additional help from the other Avengers. She's relieved when Natasha answers, saying her and Clint are on the way up. Sharon is apparently helping Sam evacuate and protect the civilians, but the two extra Avengers can mean the difference in this situation.

The superhuman heads back into the fray, firing her powers like she never has before except for the time during the battle against Ultron. Vision and she are the biggest newbies, the ones with natural powers that they have to master.

Behind her Wanda hears footsteps and she sees a hint of blond and fire, and the infamous duo appears, guns in hands. They hit the fight running, so to speak, and they blend right in with Steve. Steve will throw his shield and Natasha will catch it, holding it up against fire before striking from under the shield and tossing it back to the super soldier. Clint covers Natasha's back, using his bow to hit and using his hand to eliminate threats quickly and precisely. The five slowly fight their way through the ranks towards the main room, where they all know MODOK is watching and waiting. He's the main goal, the biggest threat.

Wanda is firing a series of short blasts when she sees from the corner of her eye a man setting his aim on Vision. She whirls, trying to stop him, but the bullet is flying too fast. Vision sees it too, and suddenly he squeezes his eyes tight, seemingly concentrating on something.

The bullet hits, and it _goes right through_ him, leaving him no harm. He looks up at Wanda's surprised face and grins sheepishly. "Little trick I've been working on," he yells over the fray, and Wanda turns back to her enemies. So apparently he can change his own density now. She wonders what else she can do—that's _if_ she can do anything else special.

The way is clearing for her to get into the room with MODOK, and Steve and Clint motion for her, Vision, and Natasha to continue on. "We'll hold them out here in the hallway," Steve says, his voice strained. "Go and get MODOK. Finish this!"

The three follow his orders immediately, Vision flying slightly above ground level to avoid stepping on bodies. Natasha kicks the door open and the three of them enter the room.

There are two guards in the room with MODOK, and Wanda quickly dispatches of them. Natasha stands in the doorway with Vision, and the two of them guard it while Wanda approaches MODOK.

He stands in the center, his massive head staring down at the Cube in his hands. His face is in open, almost innocent (note: almost) expression, and he looks up at her as she walks toward him, arms at the ready.

"It's so beautiful," he whispers. She narrows his eyes; Ultron had always went on and on about how the Earth is so beautiful but the humans are destroying it, and thus they should be destroyed. She gets the feeling MODOK won't be so different. "It's a shame I have to kill you," he continues.

"Try," she taunts, and he returns his gaze to the glowing square in front of him. Wanda feels Vision coming up behind her, and as MODOK's forehead creases in confusion the other Avenger gives her a glance; so far it seems as though their plan is working. The Cube and Vision's powers balance each other out.

"Why isn't it working?" MODOK rages. He looks up and sees Vision beside her, and his eyes turn red in anger. "You are an unseen variable."

Wanda nods to Vision, and he focuses the beam of his gem's power towards the Cube in MODOK's hand. The Cube glows a mixture of the orange of the gem and the blue of the Cube, and MODOK's hand catches on fire. He yelps in pain and drops the Cube, backing away hastily. The creature locks eyes on Vision and a hatred wells up in him.

As MODOK and Vision face off, MODOK now using his mind powers against the hero, Wanda runs to the Cube, picking it up. Though she never told the others, her plan all along has been to use the Cube against MODOK. She knows, and she has always known, that she alone isn't powerful enough to take on the living computer.

As soon as the Cube is in her hands she yells to Vision, "Go! I can handle this! Just leave!" She already knows the Cube won't work with the man around.

He looks over at her in worry, but when she turns her gaze icy he flies straight upward, breaking the ceiling as he retreats. Natasha is still guarding the door, but her back is turned, and it's essentially just Wanda and MODOK.

"Go ahead," MODOK tells her. "Look into it."

She does, though not because he tells her. Wanda looks into it because she knows she will have to in order to use its power. To take it as her own, and to defeat MODOK.

At first all she sees is the glowing blue, but then images appear in it. She's transported to another world. No, not another world; she's transported to the future. The world is in flames, and the screams of dying and suffering people are in her ears. Buildings collapse on innocents, children are left to wander around parentless, and the oceans are drying up. The sun explodes, and all that is left of the pitiful humanity is gone, the charred ashes of thousands of years of civilizations just gone, blown away into the dark recesses of space and time.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" MODOK asks, his voice sounding strangely distant. "The world is in its rightful place. No one should survive. Humanity is doomed, though they don't know it." He sighs, almost happily. "I'm really glad you're here. You can actually understand me, Wanda. You can see what I see. We could be allies, you and I. The world would be powerless against us."

"Never," she replies, still gazing into the Cube. More images flow past her, and she sees the world in ways she never has seen it before. There is the past, now; a green and blue Earth with no deserts, only lush, green forests expanding over hundreds of miles and tall, peaked mountains covered in glistening snow. The oceans are a deep blue, and the lakes are a crystalline turquoise. Humanity is hiding deep in holes and caves, terrified to come out lest the wild animals come after them. The ashes of their failed fires blow away as if they had never existed.

"You're not strong enough to beat me, even with the Cube." MODOK is fading away even as he speaks. Wanda is literally disappearing into the Cube, the AIM base and the room and the sounds of battle fading away to nothing. She's in the Cube's consciousness, and she's seeing all it knows.

She visits the different realms, from the awfulness of Hel to the beauty of Asgard, to the frozen peaks of Jotunhiem, to the sunny skies of Hawaii. She's suddenly been everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. Information, facts, history, and knowledge floods through her.

"Help me to defeat MODOK," she asks of the Cube, knowing know that it isn't an inanimate object.

 _That's not what you really want_ , the Cube replies. _I can give you everything and anything you want._

"No, you can't. It's impossible." Doubts are beginning to grow in her, though, deep-rooted doubts. The more she learns the more powerful she realizes the Cube is. The Cube is a living being, though still in fetus form, like an egg; it's alien, and one day it will "hatch" and become an organism in the universe, the most powerful one ever. And he can bring back what she wants most.

Steve had warned her about this, though. He had told her what might come back isn't what she thinks she's bringing. But she can't let an opportunity like this just go by. She has to do something! She has to at least try. This is so important to her, and she can't bring herself to listen and follow the wise advice.

 _I can do anything. I can alter reality, bring back from the past what you so desperately want. You need to help me, though._

"How? How can I help?" All thoughts of MODOK have left her mind; the Cube is showing her glimpses of her past; her brother, her parents, her childhood friends, her village, everything. She sees it all and nothing at once.

She's thrown on what is like a platform, surrounded on both sides and overhead by the currents of time. Wanda can see everything that is, everything that will be, and everything that has come to pass. So much information, so much goes through her that her head begins to hurt and she feels like she will explode. Her long hair is whipped around her face, stinging her skin, and the bottom of her skirt is flying up. It doesn't matter, though; nothing matters except what is in front of her.

Then she sees him. A single face appears through all the chaos swirling around her. It is not the face of her teammates, her fellow Avengers, nor is it even the face of her parents. It is her brother, the one she can't let go. He's reaching for her, his hands so tauntingly close. She knows he can never reach her, for he's frozen in the past, frozen at such a young age. And, until now, she's been unable to reach him.

Somewhere deep inside of her the Cube continues to whisper to her, telling her that if she tries she can reach him. She can touch him again, she can reclaim what has been lost. All she has to do is draw him close. She finally has the power to say goodbye. The power to do more than that, in fact.

And she does. Wanda pushes against the currents, her eyes focused on the prize, on him. Her brown ones searching his blue ones. Her arm trembles; she doesn't know what will happen. There's nothing around her except a vortex of time and space and past, present, and future all mixed up together. They are in the middle, and they are all that is there.

It's because nothing matters, no one matters to her except him. He's her anchor and while he's been gone she's just been drifting, not even trying to keep her head above water. Lately she'd been drowning, but now's he's reaching to pull her up, to save her. And she's about to do the same for him.

First her fingers brush against his, then she takes hold of them firmly, never breaking eye contact. She's never letting him go, not again. She's come too far to lose him again.

"Come home, brother," she whispers, her eyes tearing up. Even though the vortex of jumbled up time and space is as loud as an inferno her quiet plea thunders, as if the sounds around her all faded into the background just for them.

"Show me the way," he replies, his eyes deep and dark. "I'm lost."

Everything suddenly shifts, and she's ripped away from him. It happens so fast. She's traveling, caught up in the currents of time and space. All that's ever to be and all that has been passes by, and she watches empires rise and fall in seconds.

Wanda doesn't know how long she's been caught in the current; time has no meaning, no power over her anymore. Everything is slow and fast all at once, and it's all she can do to not get drawn into an era.

Then she sees him again. She sees years of their childhood flashing by in seconds. Everything she dreams about, it's all here. Suddenly she knows what to do.

Wanda begins pushing against the current, hoping she's aiming right. She quickly shoves forward and pulls a window open, entering into it.

The transition from the time stream is rough. She feels jumbled for a moment, then everything clears up. She's standing next to the core in the floating city, firing her powers against Ultron's minions. Her brother is there, too.

"What about the core?" Barton inquires, looking around at the remaining Avengers.

"I'll protect it," Wanda volunteers. At everyone's concerned glance she adds, "It's my job." Barton nods, a sort of proud look in his eyes. The Avengers leave and Pietro speeds up to stand near Wanda.

"Get the people on the boats," she orders, leaving no room for argument.

"I'm not going to leave you here," he insists, his voice tight. He's always trying to protect her.

"I can handle this," she replies just as firmly, taking out another robot with her red hexes. "Come back for me when everyone else is off, not before." Pietro _humphs_ and begins walking past her. "You understand?" she confirms.

He stops and turns toward her, a smirk on his face. "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

She laughs, because despite the age difference she has always been the one issuing the orders. "Go."

Pietro speeds off, and Wanda continues to protect the core. Things are going well; her powers are at an all time high and the mindless robots are easy to take out.

Then she feels it, feels the telepathical link between her and her brother severed. Grief fills her, a grief that she has never felt the equal of, nor anyone else on this world. She falls, her power practically leaving her as so much of it shoots out to kill everything around her. She's all alone, left. Pietro died.

"No," she whispers to herself. "I can save him. Take me back!"

She's yanked out, and suddenly she's traveling through the time stream again. She locates the window and pulls herself through.

T _his time we have to change something,_ she reminds herself and the Cube. _We have to prevent his death somehow._

"I'm not going to leave you," Pietro insists, his voice tight. He's always trying to protect her, and maybe she can use it to her advantage to keep him safe.

"Good," she replies. "I can handle inside of the church. You go set a perimeter."

Pietro nods and speeds outside, and all she can see of him is his blue streamline left over from running. As long as he's in her sight he's safe. She can protect him here.

She hears the quinjet, the one she knows Ultron is in, and she knows this is it. Her brother is running a perimeter around her, protecting her. He won't die.

A thought occurs to her—if Pietro isn't going to take the bullets for Barton, then who will? By saving her brother she's dooming Clint. Guilt rises up in her in a torrent. By saving her brother she is condemning another man to death, and a man that has practically become the best father-figure in her life right now at that. How can she justify her actions? She can't, and it pains her that she has to make such a damning choice.

Her mind suddenly shuts down, pain filling her. Where's Pietro? She looks around, but he's not running perimeter anymore.

"Pietro?" she calls, calmly at first. She reaches out with her mind, but she cannot locate him. "Pietro?!" He's gone. Somehow he managed to get away from her, and now he's gone again. "Pietro!" She falls to her feet, sorrow consuming her. She's failed him again.

"Take me back," she orders the Cube. "I'm going to fine a way to save him."

Again she enters the time stream, and again she's thrown back into the situation. She makes up a new thing to say to Pietro, and he agrees; then somehow he's again killed off by Ultron. No matter what she says, no matter what she does, she always loses Pietro. How many more times can she experience her brother die? She's already been through this a dozen times, two dozen times, a hundred times, a thousand times. She just keeps going through, trying to save him.

"I'm not going to leave you here," Pietro insists.

"Yes, you are," Wanda sobs. She can't keep doing this. She can't keep losing him. Not again. She's lost him far too many times. "No matter how this plays out, no matter what happens, you always end up leaving me."

Pietro's face grows a wide, timeless look in it, as if he is suddenly aware of all the times she has tried and failed to save him. "Then maybe there is a lesson in all this," he says. "Maybe some people can't be saved. Maybe you can't alter reality for this. Perhaps I'm always destined to die."

"I can't do this without you," Wanda cries. "I need you, Pietro. I'm lost, and I need you." A few tears drip down her face, and he comes close, holding her and wiping them off her face.

"You can do whatever you wish to do," he assures her. "You are the strongest person I've ever met. You don't need me."

"If I can do anything then why can't I seem to move on?" she asks softly, though deep down she suspects she knows the answer.

"Because you don't _want_ to move on." Pietro holds her at shoulder length, looking down into her eyes. "Wanda, let me go. This is the only way you can have peace. Let this play out the way it always plays out, and then find peace. Please, do it for me."

Wanda can't look him in the eyes, so she looks down and nods. She's crying again, but what else can she do? She can't save him; she never could. This has just all been an illusion, a waste of time. A torturous taught, like dangling a biscuit in front of a dog but no matter how high he jumps or how fast he runs he can never get it. Kinda like that Greek guy, Sisyphus. He had been punished for all eternity to push a rock up a hill, but right before he reached the top of the hill the rock falls back down. There is another guy, too; Tantalus. He had been punished to stand in a pool of water underneath a fruit tree for all eternity but he could never drink the water or eat the fruit.

"Go," she says, hardening her voice. "I can handle this." She doesn't mean handling the core; she means handling his death. She says it with such confidence that she almost believes it. She has to believe it. It's the only way she'll be able to do this, to sentence her brother to his inevitable death.

Pietro runs away, and as Wanda stands to protect the core she cries harder, knowing she is letting him to towards his death. And now he knows it, too.

A sudden thought occurs to her. Wanda ditches the core, knowing that the robots will get to it anyways and that the Avengers will win in the end, no matter what. She runs as fast as she can through the floating city. She hears Ultron's quinjet firing its machine guns, and she pushes herself harder.

Then she sees them. Barton is a few feet ahead, crouched over the body of a little boy, ready to protect him from the oncoming bullets. Wanda watches Pietro's blue streak as he runs in front, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. She uses all the bottled up emotions from inside to create a mass of red power that is bigger and stronger than anything she's ever been able to make before. She thrusts it forward right as the bullets rain down, and they bounce off right before hitting Barton or Pietro or the boy. They deflect back into the quinjet, bringing it down as it flies overhead. Wanda watches it crash, and she watches Ultron stumble out of the wreckage, broken as he is.

Wanda strides up to him. He looks at her tenderly; she knows he has always liked her more than Pietro, and that he always really did like her. Wanda doesn't care; he killed her brother. She has no sympathy for him as she summons her power and uses it to push him to the ground. He lays there, watching her stand over him.

"If you stay here, you'll die," he tells her, and she hears pleading in his voice. She ignores it.

"I just did," she replies, letting her emotions show in her tone. "A million times over and over. You know how it felt?" She puts her hand out in front of her, palm facing him. Her red power glows as she viciously rips his heart out from inside his vibranium chest. She takes a moment to appreciate the hurt and pain in his metal eyes. "It felt like that."

She examines the metal heart in her hand, then suddenly her knees feel weak and the heart seems to fall from her hand in slow motion, bouncing on the cement ground twice. She follows suit, her legs giving out.

There's something that catches her, something warm and comforting. No, not something; someone. He lays her down gently on the ground as she cries; everything she's wanted to say, everything she's wanted to do, all her regrets, all her bad memories—it all just leaks out now. She's held herself together for so long that letting it out is such a relief. This is something she's needed to do but has not been able to do; now, with Pietro by her side, she can.

Her brother, the one that she finally saved, holds her tight against him, and she lets it all out. It's all over now. She can finally be in peace. It's such an empty feeling, though; she had expected love and warmth radiating from inside, but instead all the hatred and grief and bitterness that has called her heart home is gone, and she can't feel anything. It's strange, and she feels so lonely without it that she almost wants it to return. Almost.

She's yanked out of the timeline, and she's back into the depths of the Cube. She hears a voice, distant, but something real.

"No. You can't do that. Why did the Cube help you?" the voice is raging, extremely angry, and she suddenly remembers her original purpose with the Cube. A new purpose floods her, and suddenly the depths of her heart are not empty anymore.

"Help me defeat MODOK," she orders. "Please. This is what I need to do. Lend me the power."

 _All power comes with a cost,_ the Cube reminds her. _Are you willing to pay the price?_

"Yes." She's willing to pay anything except the one thing she just reclaimed. That's the only thing that really matters to her now, the only thing that has ever mattered.

She can feel the Cube's power merging with her own. She feels stronger than ever, and she blood running through her veins seems to thrum. Not only can she defeat MODOK with this power but she can also defeat all their enemies in the vicinity. She feels the energies of the aircrafts outside, the energies of the men inside, and the energies of MODOK.

Wanda pushes against them all, pushes out with her mind, expelling all that power. She hears the distant sound of fire and explosions and screaming. She hears it all and digests nothing. MODOK's energy goes silent, stops thrumming, and she knows she's won.

Now its time to pay the price for the power.

* * *

Pietro whizzes around the AIM base, tripping up his opponents and pushing them against hard objects enough to keep them down. He's working his way up to the fifth floor, where he knows the main force of the Avengers are fighting, Wanda included. He needs to get up there, he needs to protect her.

He practically flies because he's speeding so fast. His legs ache and he has a side stitch, but he needs to keep going. He has to make it up to Wanda. He finally makes it to the fifth floor, and the whole floor is a battlefield. Bodies are everywhere, yet even more agents are still fighting against the Avengers, pushing them into a retreat by their sheer numbers. Steve is throwing his shield around, his jaw clenched tightly and his side dark red under his uniform. Natasha is jabbing her widow's bites into shoulder blades and necks, Barton is whacking people with his bow like a five-year-old with a tantrum (Pietro did not see that coming) and outside the window he sees Vision and Rhodey flying up in the air, fighting the AIM aircraft. One the ground Tony Stark is picking off stray quinjets and escape pods.

Natasha is guarding the door into the office, and there's a strange light coming from inside the doorway. Pietro sprints forwards, throwing men into the air and tripping them at high speed. He ends up next to Natasha, and the two of them slip into the office, Pietro's disturbance strong enough to leave a manageable amount of agents to the two Avengers still fighting in the hallway.

Natasha still guards the door, though she's half watching Wanda. Wanda is standing in the middle of the room, a bubble of blue around her. MODOK is wailing on the bubble, firing an asssorment of weapons at it to try and penetrate and using his mind power (a strange greenish yellow color) to try and break through. It all is to no avail; the Cube's protection around Wanda is too strong for even MODOK.

Inside the force field Wanda is staring into the Cube, which is held in her hands. Her whole body is thrumming with her red power and the Cube's blue power, and even more startling is that she's levitating a few inches off the ground, a part of her powers she has not demonstrated before. Her hair is flying back as if a wind is blowing on her.

She's nothing like when Pietro last saw her. He's startled by her change; she looks too powerful, too strong.

Wanda opens her eyes wide and her eyes, which are normally brown, glow with the red and blue power. She looks alien, completely different. She looks aged, too, in a way. Her eyes glow with a greater power and density, and they continue to grow, until the light has become more than just her eyes. The bright spots become as big as tennis balls, and soon they touch each other. The moment they touch the whole building shakes, and a supernova of power just explodes. Pietro steels himself, but the blast does nothing to him. He looks over at Natasha, and sees she's unaffected, also.

She peeks out the door, and at her confused face he follows her. All the AIM agents are lying on the ground, but Steve and Barton are not harmed by the blast at all, either. Through the window Pietro can see the whole armada of aircraft falling, but Rhodey and Vision are fine. On the ground Tony is looking around in puzzlement, and over the coms he's complaining that the fight is already over.

Inside the office MODOK is no more, completely erased by the blast. Wanda is still levitating, her eyes back to normal size but still glowing. The protective bubble still surrounds her.

"What is she doing?" Natasha yells over the humming of the power. "She needs to let go. The Cube will consume her!" Even as Pietro watches, parts of her start dissipating. Her feet fade until they are no more, and her legs are starting to literally turn to dust. Her eyes glow just as bright, and she continues staring into the Cube.

"If you don't shake her out of it she'll die," Clint says, coming into the room. His eyes are dark and sad as he takes her in. "If it's not too late already."

"It isn't," Pietro insists, and he starts walking towards her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her." He can't. Not after she saved his life in Novi Grad. Now it's time to repay the favour.

He approaches the protective bubble, putting his hand against it. At first it doesn't budge, put he presses against it gently and closes his eyes in submission; if Wanda is at the center of this—controlling it—then maybe she will subconsciously feel his presence and allow him entrance, just like she had subconsciously kept MODOK out.

His hands sink in, and he slowly follows with the rest of his body. Once inside of the bubble he can feel the immense power surrounding him. His blood sings to him, his bones rattling softly and his hair whipping around his face. He feels stronger and faster than ever before, like he's just drank a dozen expressos (yes, he's tried that, and no, it is not a good idea. He didn't sleep for days). In front, Wanda is still levitating—now she's the same height as he is—and she's faded away up to her thighs.

"Wanda!" Pietro shouts. "Listen to me! It's killing you!"

She doesn't answer, doesn't even give him and indication that she's listening. He steps up and grasps her shoulders tightly, shaking them a little. "Wanda! It's consuming you! Let go!" She has to listen to him. It's the only way he can save her. Throughout his whole life she has always listened; now, when it matters most, she won't even look his way. It feels like a punch to his stomach when she's right in front of him but ignoring him.

"I can't!" she cries, her eyes never leaving the Cube. At least she can hear him; it's a step in the right direction. "I can never let go. I've seen too much. My brain can't process it all—I can't ever let go."

Her legs are completely gone. Pietro holds her tighter. "Please, Wanda," he pressures, his voice cracking in pain. He can't lose her. How could he ever live without her? His world would be a dismal place of shades of grey. He needs her so much, and she needs to know that. "The Cube can't control you. Put it down."

"I'm trying. I just can't." Her words are broken and quiet. Her stomach is fading even as time passes by. Pietro feels sadness well up in him. He really is losing her, despite his best efforts. It's too late, and they both know it. That doesn't mean he's going to step trying, though.

"You can't leave me," he tells her. "I need you. I need my little sister. I'm supposed to protect you. Father told me I always need to protect you, no matter the cost. But I can't fight this battle for you."

"All power comes with a price," Wanda replies, gasping. Her words are short and full of pain as her chest blows away. "I used the Cube's power and now it's making me pay my debts."

Her arms are disappearing, though somehow her hands are still intact enough to hold on to the Cube. Pietro moves his hands to her face, cradling her tender cheeks in his rough hands. He's losing her, and he can't lose her. She's all he has. "Wanda, please," he whispers. "Let it go. Let the Cube go, sister."

"Tell me how," she begs, and her face is beginning to disappear, though he sees her glowing eyes dim in the glowing and the brown he's used to shines through. A small part of her coming back to him...right before she's gone forever.

"You're in control. Just let go." Pietro holds her eyes, though she isn't looking at him. "Look away from it. Look at me, Wanda. Look at me." Desperation colours his tone. She's his world, and he's watching it burn in front of him. The pain he feels doesn't even comprehend right in his mind.

He sees her struggling, _feels_ her struggle. She's fading away, her neck and now her chin. She still struggling, and Pietro keeps talking, keeps encouraging. He won't give up her her; he never will. Her eyes lose their glow and she finally manages to tear her gaze away, just as her face disappears. He locks eyes with hers, and suddenly the Cube falls to the ground. The moment it hits the ground it seemingly explodes, sending out a blast that throws Pietro against the wall, hard. He hears the others hit the walls too, but his focus isn't them. His focus is his sister.

As the dust settles he sprints over to where she is laying on the ground, her body fully there again. She's laying in a crumpled heap, not moving. Pietro crouches down and brushes away the hair on her face, but when he touches her skin it burns him and he retrieves his hand, yelping quietly.

Her skin is steaming red and blue, as if the trace of the power is still on her. He picks her up, being careful to touch her only where clothes cover her body. She's still hot, but it's a bearable heat. For her anything is bearable. He runs out of the building, seeing the others getting to their feet as he runs past.

He sets her down on the ground outside and waits a few minutes while the steam finally finishes seeping out. Then he pulls her upper body onto his lap and holds her close, feeling for a pulse.

Joy fills him when he finds one, and though it's weak he still rejoices, pulling her into an embrace and vowing to never let her go.

* * *

Author's Note: In case of any confusion about what happened, Wanda went back in time and created an alternate universe in which Pietro is still alive. The rest of this story will take place in this alternate universe, and she's the only one aware that Pietro died in the original universe, but we'll explore that a little more in the next two chapters.


End file.
